Stand by Me
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: After a messy divorce, Stephanie must move on with her children...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or real people in this fic, they belong to Vince McMahon and WWE, and the real people belong to themselves, or so I hope. ;)  
  
~  
  
Stephanie softly caressed her daughter's hair, assuaging the nightmares that had awoken her during the night. The four year old closed her eyes, clamed by her mother's comforting presence. She whispered sweet words of comfort into her daughter's ear. She knew that the little girl was still missing having her ex-husband in the house.  
  
Of course it was odd, he hadn't been gone long enough for anyone to forget his commanding presence. Unfortunately for her, but more unfortunately for her two little girls. She knew however much she hurt, her daughters were hurting a thousand times more. They had only seen their father a few times since he had left them, about 8 months before.  
  
She hated him, and yet she still loved him, if for nothing else than her two little girls. She looked down at her daughter, her soft blonde hair luminous in the dim light from the nightlight she insisted she have on. She looked like a little angel, her sweet face bringing a smile to Stephanie's face. She wanted to hate him, desperately, but he had given her the two beautiful, sweet little girls.  
  
Not that he even cared. After he had torn his ACL, it was the beginning of the end, but she hadn't seen it. She had continued to live as if her life was perfect, and as far as she knew, it had been. Physical therapy he had said, when she had inquired as to why he was gone all the time. She knew she wasn't a fool because she had believe him; he would've done anything to get back in the ring again, not letting age or a bum leg get in his way. He had the perfect cover, and everybody believed him, believed the lies. That was...until that night.  
  
She had been out with the girls, and they were supposed to stay overnight in New York. But Keagan had forgotten her teddy bear and there was no way that she could sleep without it, so they had headed back home, scrapping the overnight stay. She had driven home, arriving well after midnight, the two little girls asleep in the backseat. She had gotten out of the vehicle, intending to asked her husband to help her bring Keagan and Ferris inside the house.  
  
She walked inside to the sound of moaning from upstairs. She laughed, thinking that he was having a little fun with his hand. Hmm...maybe they could have some fun tonight, she had mused to herself. It had been a while since they had been together like that. Unknowingly she had walked upstairs to greet him.  
  
She saw it and wished she could burn the memory from her brain. Any other way she could've dealt with. If he had said, calmly, that they had grown apart, she would've handled it better. But finding him on top of his fucking physical therapist, she couldn't deal with that. She gasped, swore at him, and walked right back out again, taking her and the children to her parent's house.  
  
Then he had left her. No remorse, no sadness, he had just run off with his mistress, Shayna, her name was. Left her, but also left his daughters. Left two helpless, little children, and for that he was a bastard. What kind of man left two of the most beautiful children in the world?  
  
Telling them their daddy was going away had been the worst part of this messy divorce. Having to tell them why the man, the father they adored, wouldn't be coming around anymore, was bar none the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Answering their questions, seeing their broken little faces, staring into their teary eyes, she had wanted to kill her ex- husband. If he had seen those faces and still turned away, he would've cemented his place as a cruel, heartless asshole.  
  
"Mommy," Keagan said, turning to face Stephanie.  
  
"Yes darling?"  
  
"I want Daddy," she said softly.  
  
Stephanie closed her eyes briefly. She knew this had been coming. The divorce had really affected Keagan more than Ferris, Keagan being the younger of the two. Ferris, at seven years old, was able to grasp the concept at least a little. But Keagan, well, sometimes Stephanie caught her staring out the front window, waiting for her daddy to magically appear. Stephanie would have to gently tell her that Daddy wasn't coming home.  
  
"Sweetie, what did Mommy tell you?"  
  
"Daddy went away for a long time," she said, repeating what Stephanie had said time and time again to her and her sister.  
  
"That's right, but he'll come see you once and a while," she told the little girl, hoping that was the truth.  
  
"I miss him."  
  
"I know sweetie, I miss him too sometimes."  
  
"Where he is?"  
  
"Mommy doesn't know sweetie," she answered, but having heard that he and his new girlfriend had moved to California. This was after he had quit the company.  
  
"He here?"  
  
"No sweetie, he's not here."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"But I'm here sweetie, and you know I will never leave you."  
  
"Ok," she said, "Daddy no love us huh?"  
  
"He loves you so much," Stephanie said, hugging the little girl to her, "Don't ever doubt that."  
  
"But he not here."  
  
"He just had to go away for a while."  
  
"Ok," she said yawning, "Night Mommy."  
  
"Goodnight my sweet girl," she said, leaning down to kiss her daughter's forehead.  
  
Stephanie got up and walked to the door. She stopped and looked back. Keagan was holding her teddy bear in her arms, clutching it tightly. Stephanie smiled softly and closed the door behind her, leaving it open just a crack. She walked down to her room and paused as she saw a picture of the newborn Keagan being held by her doting father.  
  
She damned Hunter to hell.  
  
A/N: As with everything I write, be brutal if you want to. :) 


	2. Chapter 2

"Stephanie, what part of I can't come don't you get?"  
  
"Hunter, I'm not asking you anything you should consider and obligation," she said.  
  
"Steph, I just can't right now, get over it."  
  
"Do you think I care about seeing you?" she said angrily, "It's not me who wants to see you!"  
  
"Just tell them I can't come."  
  
"Hunter, you haven't had to see their faces when they find out your aren't coming to see them."  
  
"Steph, you know I'm busy."  
  
"Too busy for your KIDS?!?" she yelled, "You're a selfish bastard!"  
  
"Stephanie, I have been there for you and the girls for the past eight years."  
  
"And you think that's enough? You think because you helped make them and stuck around for the past seven years that means your job is over?"  
  
"Steph, I really need to focus on me right now."  
  
"Oh, that's great Hunter," she said snottily," I'm sure Keag and Ferris will love to hear that."  
  
"Just tell them I'm busy."  
  
"No."  
  
"What do you mean no? I just told you that I couldn't make it."  
  
Stephanie shook her head. Dealing with Hunter was beginning to be such a chore for her. Every conversation turned into this huge fight and every time she hung up after talking to him, she felt bitter and petty. He truly brought out the worst in her. She didn't like it, but Hunter had become her worst enemy.  
  
"You don't have to look into their faces."  
  
"I'm sure they understand."  
  
"They're FOUR and SEVEN!" she said, "What makes you think they understand any of this? Hunter, you can't just leave their life one day and never come back."  
  
"Who said I wasn't coming back?"  
  
"They think that. You know what Keagan told me the other day?" she said, thinking back to her daughter.  
  
"What?" Hunter said disinterestedly.  
  
"She thought you didn't love her anymore," Stephanie said, tears coming to her eyes as she thought back to the innocent face of her daughter, uttering such harsh words.  
  
"Stephanie, they know I love them."  
  
"She sits, in front of the window, day in and day out, looking for you, hoping that you'll come home, hoping you'll come to see her," she said.  
  
"Stephanie, don't try to guilt me into coming."  
  
Stephanie was so fed up with him. He obviously didn't want to have anything to do with her and anything that was associated with her, including their children. She would rather have him just come right out and say it then dance around the subject day after day. If he didn't ever want to see Keagan and Ferris, he need to tell her.  
  
"I'm not! How dare you think that? You just don't get it do you?"  
  
"I get it," he answered, "They want to see me."  
  
"Hunter, they NEED to see you. I'm sure you can break away from your whore for a couple of days to come see them."  
  
"Hey! Don't call Shayna names," he chastised.  
  
Stephanie guffawed, "Ok, so it's ok if you break your daughter's hearts, but it's not ok if I insult your new girlfriend who is the reason for you not being around your children, oh that makes a whole lot of sense Hunter."  
  
"Stephanie, just shut up about her ok?"  
  
"No, I don't fucking have to, maybe if you weren't such an asshole all the time I might have a little more sympathy for you, but since you don't even take responsibility for your actions, I don't think I'll give you any leniency."  
  
"Fine, I don't care, I need to go," he said, tiring of the conversation.  
  
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere."  
  
"What now?" he asked.  
  
"You are going to talk to them, you are going to tell them why you aren't coming to see them," Stephanie said sternly.  
  
"Stephanie, just tell them I can't make it."  
  
"No Hunter, I'm sick and tired of doing your dirty work, if you want them to know why you aren't here with them, then you are going to tell them, you are going to have to hear their disappointment."  
  
"Stephanie..."  
  
"Shut up, I'm getting them, and so help me God, if you hang up this phone, I will make sure that you never ever see them ever again for the rest of your life. Not only that, but I will make sure that your life is a miserable one."  
  
"Fine, fine," he conceded.  
  
Stephanie put the phone on the counter and went down the hallway to the girl's playroom. She opened the door and smiled as she saw them playing with some dolls on the floor. Ferris looked up and saw Stephanie standing in the doorway. She smiled, her front tooth missing and Stephanie came over to sit on the floor with them.  
  
"What're my two beauties doing?" she asked.  
  
"Playing with dolls," Ferris answered, "Do ya wanna play with us?"  
  
"No thanks, I think I've got something even better for you," Stephanie said, trying to smile as she thought of how delighted they would be to talk to their father, but also tempered with how crushed they would be when he told them he couldn't come see them.  
  
"What?" Keagan asked, suddenly interested.  
  
"Daddy's on the phone," she smiled.  
  
"Daddy!" Keagan yelled, standing up immediately, "I wanna talk to Daddy!"  
  
"Ok Keag," Stephanie said, standing up and picking her up. She started to walk out of the room, Keagan in her arms, when she noticed Ferris still sitting there, calmly combing a doll's hair, "Fer, you coming?"  
  
"Ok," she said quietly, standing up and putting her doll down gently.  
  
Stephanie's mouth turned down for a moment. Ferris had always been the quiet one, but she had been especially quiet since Hunter left. Also, she was always on her best behavior, and it worried Stephanie. Ferris was being hit hard by this divorce and it showed in her face and her hazel eyes. Stephanie held out her free hand and Ferris politely took it as they walked into the kitchen.  
  
Stephanie let Keagan pick up the phone from the counter and she eagerly put her ear up to hear it, "Daddy!"  
  
"Hey K," he said happily.  
  
"I miss you!" she yelled.  
  
"I know, I miss you too kooky pie."  
  
"Where are you?" she asked.  
  
"I'm in California sweetie, but I miss you so much."  
  
"When you come home?"  
  
"I don't know sweetie."  
  
"Visit us," she said, a little pleading in her small voice.  
  
"Kooky pie, I wanna see you, but Daddy is so busy right now that I can't."  
  
"Oh," she said, "I want to see you."  
  
"I know you do, and you will, I promise."  
  
"When?"  
  
"As soon as I can make it out there," he told her.  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"I promise."  
  
"I wish you were here with Fer and Mommy."  
  
"I wish I was with you and Ferris too."  
  
Stephanie could see Keagan's sad face about to appear and she kissed her on the cheek a few times, causing the little girl to giggle uncontrollably, "I go now Daddy, bye."  
  
"Bye kooky pie," he told her.  
  
Keagan handed the phone over to Stephanie and Stephanie kissed her nose. She took the phone and handed it to Ferris who took it hesitantly. She looked at the phone for a moment and then looked up at Stephanie, as if asking for permission to speak. Stephanie gave her and encouraging nod and Ferris held the phone up to her ear.  
  
"Hi Daddy," she said quietly.  
  
"Hey there Fer," he said happily.  
  
"Hi, how are you?"  
  
"I'm good and you."  
  
"I was playing and then Mommy said you called."  
  
"Yeah, I thought I might talk to you."  
  
"But you're not here."  
  
"No, I'm in California."  
  
"Oh, why aren't you here?"  
  
"I had important things I needed to take care of, I miss you though."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Do you miss me?"  
  
"Yeah," she said, her voice soft, "But you don't love us anymore so it's ok if you don't miss us."  
  
"Ferris, I love you so much," he said, feeling for the first time what Stephanie had meant.  
  
"You don't come to see us," she said.  
  
"Ferris, Daddy has a lot of things he needs to work out, then I'll be around so much you'll get sick of me," he joked.  
  
"Oh," she said, then looked up at Stephanie, "I guess I should go."  
  
"Ok sweetie, I'll se you later ok."  
  
"I guess," she said, handing the phone over to Stephanie quickly then leaving the room to got to the playroom.  
  
Stephanie took the phone again, "Are you happy now?"  
  
"Stephanie, I don't...."  
  
"No, don't say anything ok, because I've got a very upset little girl who just walked out of here and I don't need to deal with you right now."  
  
"Fine, goodbye Stephanie."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Stephanie walked out of the kitchen and into the playroom. She knew that Ferris probably wouldn't want to talk, but it was worth a shot to try anyways. She sat down with Keagan on the floor and Keagan immediately went to play with some other toys in another part of the room.  
  
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Stephanie asked gently.  
  
"Nothing," Ferris said.  
  
"Are you mad at Daddy."  
  
"No, I just wish that he would come see us," she said.  
  
"I know, I wish he would come see you too," Stephanie told her, "You know, it's ok to be mad at him, if you want, I mean, if he hasn't come to see you, you can tell him that you don't like it."  
  
"I'm ok Mommy," she said softly.  
  
Stephanie sighed and watched as she played. She looked so sullen as she sat there. Hunter didn't have to see this stuff. He didn't have to see that heartbreak, or their tears, or their forlorn glances. He was safely 3000 miles away, with his new girlfriend, who has suddenly become more important than their kids. She stood up and walked to the door, glancing back at her two daughters once again.  
  
She left before they could see her cry. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates on this one, so many fics, and too little time. It's a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get back in the groove of writing this, so here it is. Hope that you enjoy it and leave a review because its been a while and I want to know if people are still reading this. Thanks. :)  
  
~  
  
"I don't know what I ever saw in him."  
  
"Oh Stephanie," Linda said sympathetically.  
  
"He's so selfish Mom. Just when I think he'll do the right thing, he does the complete opposite."  
  
"So he won't come see the girls?"  
  
Stephanie sipped her coffee, "No. He has no plans to either. Apparently Shayna is more important to him that Ferris and Keagan."  
  
She sounded bitter, hell, she was bitter. And she had every right to be. It had been hard raising the girls by herself. When she had had them, she never in a million years thought she would ever have to raise them alone. She had always thought that Hunter would be by her side, helping her raise them, being a good father to them. He had been too, for a while at least, and then he'd changed.  
  
"How are the girls taking it?"  
  
"Keagan doesn't really understand," Stephanie told her mother, "She's her usual happy, bubbly self. Ferris on the other hand..."  
  
"She's not taking it as well?"  
  
"I don't know. She barely talks anymore," Stephanie said, her voice worry- filled, "I mean, she's always been shy, but this goes beyond that."  
  
"Like how?"  
  
"She's always on her best behavior. Its like she did something wrong. I think she blames herself for Hunter leaving."  
  
"Maybe if you talk to her about it."  
  
"I've tried Mom, believe me I've tried," Stephanie said, running a hand through her straight hair.  
  
"Maybe you can take a trip to get their minds off of the divorce and Hunter," Linda suggested.  
  
"Isn't that kind of under-handed? I mean, taking a trip just to get their minds off of something?"  
  
"No, don't you think they deserve one after what they've been through?"  
  
"You're probably right."  
  
Later that evening, as Keagan and Ferris were watching some cartoon, Stephanie thought about what her mother had said. It wouldn't be too difficult to take some time off of work, it wasn't like her boss wouldn't let her off, considering her father was her boss. Keagan could take a few days off from her pre-school, and Ferris was on summer vacation. They could go somewhere fun where the girls would be able to forget about Hunter.  
  
She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch to watch cartoons with her daughters. Keagan immediately seized the opportunity to climb into Stephanie's lap and cuddle with her. Stephanie glanced over at Ferris, who just sat quietly watching the television. Stephanie reached out and smoothed her hair as Ferris turned to her, a small smile on her face.  
  
"How would you guys like to go on a vacation?"  
  
"What's that?" Keagan asked.  
  
"Where we go away and have lots of fun," Stephanie said, kissing her cheek.  
  
"I wanna go!" Keagan exclaimed, "Where will we go?"  
  
"I was thinking about DisneyWorld, what do you guys think?"  
  
"Mickey!" Keagan shouted, even louder than before.  
  
"Yeah, you can see Mickey Mouse, and Minnie and all the Disney characters," Stephanie said grinning, "And we can have lots of fun together. What do you think about that Ferris?"  
  
"Sounds good," she said politely.  
  
"Do you want to have fun?"  
  
"I'd like that."  
  
"Good, because I was thinking that we should get out of here as soon as possible, that way the faster we get to DisneyWorld."  
  
"Yay!" Keagan yelled and started dancing around the room like a ballerina. Stephanie looked over at Ferris who just smiled demurely and went back to watching her cartoon. Stephanie scooted herself over to sit next to Ferris and took the little girl in her arms.  
  
"Are you excited to go to DisneyWorld?"  
  
"I think it'll be fun," Ferris answered, "Keags will like it."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but Keag likes everything, but what about you?"  
  
"I'd like to go."  
  
Stephanie kissed the top of her head. The worry that she felt about her daughter's behavior didn't go away, she knew it would take a lot for Ferris to ever be the same again. Her father had abandoned them and she knew it. She was a smart little girl, and she knew the current situation. It was one time that Stephanie truly wished that she wasn't smart enough to realize that her beloved father had completely given up on her. Hopefully this vacation would help.  
  
Stephanie arranged to leave in two day's time, and spent that time packing. Keagan insisted on bringing everything she owned, but Stephanie had persuaded her to bring only the necessities. Then they took a plane down to Florida and then a taxicab to their hotel. Stephanie had booked one of the biggest rooms. Just one of the perks of being super rich. Keagan ran around all the rooms, pointing out different cool things like the garbage can and the room service menu. Stephanie still had no idea where she got all that energy.  
  
"Mommy, I wanna go see Mickey!" Keagan screamed as she started jumping on the bed.  
  
"Sweetie, let's get settled in first and then we can go see him."  
  
"But I wanna see him now, he's probably waiting for me," she said, "I wrote him a letter telling him I was coming to visit, and he's expecting me!"  
  
"Where's the letter?" Stephanie asked.  
  
Keagan jumped off the bed, effectively frightening Stephanie and she ran over to her pink backpack, rooting around inside. She pulled out a piece of paper and ran back over to Stephanie handing to her. Stephanie looked at it and smiled, it was a bunch of scribbles on the page and her name written out at the bottom. She turned to Keagan, giving her an impressed look.  
  
"Wow, this is really good, I'm sure that he got the message, Mickey is special like that."  
  
"I know," she said superiorly, "Fer, don't you want to see Mickey?"  
  
Ferris smiled at her, "Yeah, I want to see him."  
  
"See Mommy, we both want to see him, let's go see him," she whined, pulling at Stephanie's shirt.  
  
"You're the most impatient little girl ever," Stephanie said, picking her up, "Can you wait a few minutes and then we'll go see him."  
  
Keagan pretended to think it over and then nodded, "Ok Mommy, but don't make it too long."  
  
Stephanie laughed. As much as she hated Hunter with the passion of a thousand suns, she had to laugh at Keagan because she had Hunter's personality. It was a little demanding at times, but charming enough to make you forget about that. Funny how she loved that about Keagan and hated that about Hunter. But she pretty much hated everything about Hunter right now.  
  
Stephanie got settled in, putting suitcases and clothes away, making sure that everything had found their proper place in the room. Keagan was just about bouncing off the walls when Stephanie finally said they could go to the park. She grabbed onto Stephanie's hand as they walked out of the hotel. There was a special tram to the park and they found that and it took them there rather quickly.  
  
Keagan was a bundle of energy as they got their tickets for the park. Stephanie's arm kept going up and down as she tried to hold the jumping Keagan's hand. Ferris stood on her other side, looking around patiently. She got their tickets and within a few minutes they were in the park.  
  
"Mommy, Mommy, I wanna go see Mickey!"  
  
"Keag, I'm sure he's around, he'll find us."  
  
She frowned, "Alright, but I hope that he's around here because I don't want to have to walk far."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because then I won't look pretty," she declared.  
  
"You always look pretty baby," Stephanie said, patting her head, "Now let's walk around and see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into."  
  
As they walked down Main Street U.S.A. Keagan's eyes lit up at just about everything she saw. Stephanie smiled, glad to see her little girl happy. Even Ferris had a smile on her face, which relieved Stephanie to no end. She had been worried that even this vacation wouldn't bring a smile back to her daughter's face.  
  
"Mommy, let's go to that store!" Keagan yelled pointing in the direction of a clothing store.  
  
"Ok, but you can only pick one thing each alright," Stephanie said, "And that's it."  
  
"Ok!"  
  
Stephanie led the girls into the store and they went over to look at the t- shirts. Ferris picked one out quite quickly that had Tinkerbell on it. Stephanie leaned down to kiss her head as she grabbed the shirt. Ferris managed another smile for her. Keagan took a while longer, running from rack to rack, looking at everything the store had to offer.  
  
"Mommy, I want to get the princess costume!"  
  
"How did I know that would be what you picked?" Stephanie laughed, looking for a costume in Keagan's size.  
  
As soon as she had found one, she took both items up to the cashier. She was rooting through her purse and didn't notice that Keagan had wandered off. Stephanie gave the woman her credit card and got the clothes put into a bag. She turned around to grab Keagan's hand and didn't find her at her side. She turned to Ferris.  
  
"Fer, where did Keagan go?"  
  
"I don't know Mommy, I was looking at the jewelry," Ferris said, pointing to the glass case the cashier spot was set over.  
  
"What do you mean you don't know!"  
  
Ferris took a step back as tears formed in her eyes, "I'm sorry Mommy, I didn't mean to."  
  
Stephanie berated herself, knowing how sensitive that Ferris was, "I'm sorry Fer, you didn't do anything wrong. You know how Keag gets. She must be around here somewhere."  
  
Stephanie tried to remain calm, but inside she was a bundle of nerves and worry. She took Ferris by the hand, assuring that she wouldn't lose the other of her daughters. She looked around the store about five times and couldn't see Keagan anywhere. Stephanie got more scared by the second and started calling out Keagan's name but there was no answer.  
  
They raced out of the store, but there were so many people there, so many kids that she couldn't see over everyone. She stopped and tried to look around, but it was futile. Her breathing became labored and the world suddenly couldn't stop spinning. Everything started to blur together, but Stephanie couldn't stop looking around.  
  
Her little girl was missing. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chris had just finished up his radio interview with the local deejay. Now that he was a big, huge rock star with Fozzy, he was constantly doing interviews. He didn't mind it though, now that he was solely devoted to his music. He had retired from wrestling six years ago to pursue his musical career and he could call his time since nothing less than a complete success. They were starting their summer tour in about a month and he had been promoting it by appearing on the local radio.  
  
He was walking down the main street of DisneyWorld right now, funny how they always did this kind of stuff at places like this. Something about being on location drawing in more listeners. He didn't understand it any more than anyone else. He looked around at the happy families and smiled, it must be nice to have that. He was looking over at one of the shops and saw a little girl standing there, looking around calling out for someone. He didn't see anyone stop for her and she looked a little lost. He walked up to her.  
  
"Hey there," Chris said, stooping down to look at her, "Are you lost?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, my mommy said that I couldn't," she said, but there were tears in her hazel eyes.  
  
"Well, I'm Chris," he said, "There, I'm not a stranger."  
  
She looked a little hesitant, but finally stuck her hand out, just like she had seen her mom do to new people, "My name is Keagan."  
  
"Wow, that's such a pretty name," he said, shaking her hand.  
  
"Thank you," she answered politely, "My mommy said it's a pretty name too, and she's the best mommy in the world, and I miss her."  
  
"You miss her, did she go somewhere?"  
  
Keagan nodded, "I wanted to go get cotton candy and then I forgot where my mommy was, and now I can't find her, or my sister, and I'm lost."  
  
"Wow, that must be terrible," Chris said, "Do you want me to help you look for your mommy?"  
  
"Would you?" Keagan asked, her eyes lighting up, "I'd like that very much."  
  
"Of course I will, do you remember where you last saw your mommy?"  
  
"At a store," Keagan said.  
  
"And what about your daddy, is he around here too?"  
  
Keagan shuffled her feet a little, and looked down, "Our Daddy had to go away for a long time, and he doesn't come and see us anymore."  
  
Chris saw the sadness in the little girl's eyes and he felt bad for her, even though he had only met her minutes before, "Who wouldn't want to see a pretty girl like you?"  
  
Keagan smiled again, "I don't know, I'm very nice."  
  
He laughed, "What's your mommy's name?"  
  
"Stephanie," Keagan said, "My mommy's name is Stephanie, and my daddy's name is Hunter. They taught me that in case I ever need help."  
  
Chris stopped listening as soon as she had said those two names. Stephanie and Hunter? Stephanie and Hunter Helmsley, from his old company. It couldn't be and yet how many Hunter's and Stephanie's could be out there who were married, or from Keagan's account, divorced. It had to be the same, he had heard from some friends still in WWE that they were divorced. He hadn't seen either one of them in, God, how long had it been, five years or so.  
  
"What's your last name?"  
  
"Helmsley, Keagan Helmsley, and I live at 15 Barry Lane in Greenwich Connecticut," she said proudly, proud that she had remembered all that information.  
  
"Well guess what Keagan?"  
  
"What?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I know your mommy," he told her with a smile.  
  
Her mouth dropped open in child-like wonder, "You know Mommy!"  
  
"I do know her, I've known her for a long, long time," he said, "We go way back because I used to work for your Grandpa Vince."  
  
"You worked for Grandpa, so you wrestled?"  
  
"That's right," he said, "And you have an older sister named Ferris huh?"  
  
"That's right!"  
  
"Well aren't I lucky that I found you," he said, "Now I know exactly who I'm looking for."  
  
"Yay!" Keagan said, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down, "Mommy was buying me a princess outfit."  
  
"Hmm, that must be from one of the stores around here," he said, thinking out loud to himself, "But if I know your mommy, I bet she's frantically looking for you, so its probably best if we stay put so she can find us."  
  
"Mr. Chris?"  
  
"You can just call me Chris," he told her.  
  
"Chris, since we're near the candy store, can I get cotton candy? Mommy was going to buy me cotton candy as soon as she got my princess outfit, and can you buy me some while we wait?"  
  
"Are you sure she was going to buy you some?" Chris asked, acting like he was suspicious.  
  
"Uh huh," she nodded in earnest, "So pretty please?"  
  
"Ok, that way we can stay in one spot."  
  
Keagan smiled and grabbed onto Chris's hand, now that she knew he knew her mom and sister, and even her dad. Chris let the little girl pull him to the candy store just next to where they had been standing. He looked at her, she looked like Hunter, blond hair, hazel eyes, but thank goodness, Stephanie's nose. She seemed a little like Hunter too, a bit demanding, or at least how he remembered Hunter.  
  
"Ooh, they have blue, blue's my favorite color!"  
  
"Me too," Chris said, "Do you want to share one or get your own?"  
  
"My own," she said, jumping up and down, then looked at the candy apples, "Chris, what are those?"  
  
"Those are candy apples."  
  
"But Mommy said apples aren't candy," Keagan said, her brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Well, these are dipped in candy, or caramel," he explained.  
  
Her eyes widened as she looked from him to the apples, "Apples dipped in CANDY! Can I have that, pretty, pretty please?"  
  
Chris wasn't used to being around kids and was shocked at her boisterous behavior. He didn't know they could be so...loud. She grinned up at him, and she seemed to be fine with the fact that she couldn't find her mom. He was sure that Stephanie was not as happy with this situation, but the sooner he bought the candy apple, the sooner that they could sit down and then he could look around for Stephanie.  
  
"Sure," he said, signaling to the woman that he wanted to get two candy apples.  
  
"Thank you," she said, "Apples dipped in candy, who knew?"  
  
Chris laughed, "So how's your Mommy?"  
  
"She's good," Keagan said, "She seems kind of sad sometimes, but that's because Daddy is an asshole."  
  
Chris coughed and looked down at her, "He's a what?"  
  
"Asshole," Keagan repeated slowly, "That's what Mommy called him. I don't know what that means, but its funny."  
  
"I don't think you should repeat that around your mommy, she might not like it."  
  
"Oh," Keagan said, putting her finger to her lips, "I can keep a secret."  
  
"Good," Chris said as he got the apples and handed one to Keagan as he went to pay, "Why don't you go sit at that table right there."  
  
"Alright!"  
  
Keagan bounded over to the table and climbed up on the chair while Chris paid. She took a bite out of her apple and giggled as some of the juices from the apple dribbled down her chin. Chris saw this and grabbed some napkins before sitting down. He handed them to her, but she just put them down on the table.  
  
"Aren't you going to wipe your mouth?"  
  
"Why? I'm not done eating."  
  
Chris took a napkin and wiped her mouth, "You're a mess."  
  
"Thanks," she said as she continued eating, "This is so good!"  
  
"Yeah," Chris said, taking a bite from his own before setting it back down on the wax paper they had given him and standing up, "Ok, you stay right here, and I'm just going to go and look around for your mom, but don't you eat my apple ok?"  
  
"I won't," she said, with a little smirk. Chris immediately recognized it as Stephanie's.  
  
"Better not," he warned playfully, "Now stay right here, because I don't think there's anyone else around here that knows your mommy."  
  
"Ok, ok," she said as she kept eating.  
  
Chris looked around, but didn't see Stephanie anywhere. He would recognize her though, he knew Stephanie, well, not anymore or anything, but he had known her. They had worked together for years and he knew what she looked like. They had worked together rather closely. He walked a few steps away from the table, scanning the crowds. It was kind of difficult to positively identify anyone with the kind of crowds that were here today. He was lucky he hadn't been spotted by any fans and mobbed like he usually was everywhere else he went. The sunglasses and hat really paid off. And luckily the people who usually came here weren't his target audience.  
  
He didn't see Stephanie and walked back to the table. He stood behind Keagan's chair and put his hands on the back of it. He leaned down again to wipe her mouth since she was getting all kinds of juice and candy on her shirt. Kids could be so messy sometimes, how did parents do it?  
  
Stephanie was pulling Ferris everywhere she could find. They stopped into the candy store, searching around quickly. She was about two seconds away from a nervous breakdown and she needed to find Keagan. She was a horrible mother, HORRIBLE, she had let her little girl run off. This was the kind of thing that happened in bad T.V. movies, not to her, not now. She scanned again really quickly just to make sure before moving on and she saw the profile of her little girl eating a candy apple. There was a strange man hovering over her, a hat shading his features and she saw him lean in to do something to her little girl.  
  
She ran over to them and grabbed her purse, starting to hit the man over and over again, "Get away from my daughter! Stay the hell away from her!"  
  
"Hey!" Chris shouted, trying to duck away from the blows, "Quit it!"  
  
"You were trying to kidnap my little girl! How dare you! What kind of sick person are you, trying to take a little girl!"  
  
"Jesus Christ Stephanie!"  
  
"How did you know my name! Did you think you were going to get ransom or something! Have you been stalking me! Answer me," she yelled, still hitting this pervert with her purse.  
  
"Why would I want to stalk you Princess?"  
  
At the word "princess," Stephanie stopped her assault on the man. Chris finally had a chance to stand up and turned to face Stephanie. He took off his hat and glasses and she gasped as she saw that all too familiar face. Ferris had been watching with wide eyes and then saw her mother looking at this man funnily. Stephanie dropped her purse and bag and threw her arms around Chris, hugging him tightly.  
  
"Geez, you try to do one good deed and it gets shot to hell," Chris said as he hugged her back.  
  
"Chris, thank you for finding my baby," Stephanie sobbed.  
  
"So one minute I'm a kidnapper and a stalker and now I'm you're hero and knight in shining armor?"  
  
"Yes," she said, "If I had known it was you I wouldn't have tried to kill you with my purse."  
  
"What a way to go though."  
  
"God, it's been so long," she said, pulling away from him to get a good look, "Wow, being a rock star does wonders."  
  
"So does being a mother," Chris said, looking her over, than seeing they had developed quite the crowd, "Nothing to see here folks, just two old friends catching up."  
  
"Yeah, no kidnapping or anything going on," Stephanie said sheepishly then turned to her once again, "Thank you for finding my little girl."  
  
"Well, she didn't talk to me at first because she thought I was a stranger, but then we found out that we had you in common."  
  
"Keagan!" Stephanie said, kneeling next to the little girl, "What has Mommy told you about running off and not telling me where you're going?"  
  
"Not to do it," Keagan said, her mouth full, "But Mommy, I wanted cotton candy."  
  
"That's no excuse, do you have any idea how worried Fer and I were," Stephanie said, hugging Keagan to her, "You almost made Mommy have a heart attack."  
  
"I'm sorry Mommy, I didn't mean to, but then Chris found me, AND he showed me candy apples Mommy, apples dipped in CANDY...did you know about this?"  
  
Stephanie laughed out of relief as she kissed Keagan's forehead, "Yeah, I did."  
  
Chris watched as Ferris looked on to the little display with a small frown on her face. Chris looked at her. The last time he had seen her she had been about a year old. Even then you could tell she would look like Stephanie. Her brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she had Stephanie's features, but unlike Stephanie and Keagan, she had yet to say a word. He stood next to her.  
  
"Hi, I'm Chris," he said to her.  
  
"I'm Ferris, nice to meet you," she said politely, "Thank you for finding my sister. My mommy was very worried."  
  
"Not a problem, you probably don't remember, but I actually knew you when you were a little baby," he told her.  
  
She looked up at him, "Really? So you know my Daddy?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"He doesn't love us anymore," she whispered, "Mommy tries to tell us that he does, but he'd rather be with his new girlfriend. That's why she took us on this trip."  
  
Well, she was certainly smart, Chris noted, obviously, OBVIOUSLY something she didn't pick up from her father, considering just who her father was. But after realizing how smart she was, it made him kind of sad to think that these two little girls were without a father, and obviously Ferris was taking it hard, he could tell these things.  
  
"Did you want me to buy you a candy apple?"  
  
"Oh, no thank you, I wouldn't want to trouble you."  
  
"It wouldn't trouble me at all," he said, "In fact, maybe I should buy your mom one too, I think it would help calm her down."  
  
Ferris giggled, "Ok."  
  
Chris went over to the counter and got two more candy apples, handing one to Ferris and then he went over to Stephanie who was still kissing and hugging Keagan. Chris tapped her on the shoulder and she stood up to face him. He grinned impishly before handing her a candy apple. She took it and looked at him strangely, silently asking what this was for.  
  
"Ferris and I decided that you needed this."  
  
"Thank you again Chris," she said, "I don't know what I would've done if something happened to her, they're the most important things in the world to me."  
  
"You're welcome," he said, "So I'm assuming you guys are here on vacation.  
  
Stephanie sat down at the table where Keagan and Ferris were sitting and Chris joined her, "Yeah, we needed it."  
  
"I heard," he said, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Not as sorry as I am," Stephanie laughed, "I'm fine, I just...well, I worry, but don't worry about it. I mean, look at you, you're a huge star, you have all of that fame and stuff, you're great, I have all your CD's...and I just sounded like a complete groupie or something."  
  
"I believe the term is Fozzy Floozie," Chris grinned, "Never figured you'd be one."  
  
"Well, hey, you worked for us, I have to keep tabs right?"  
  
"Well, hey more money in my pocket, so thanks."  
  
"What are you doing here anyways? I never took you for the kind of guy who would just randomly be at a Disney park."  
  
"Radio interview," he said, "I was just about to leave when I saw Keagan."  
  
"Well, she's safe now, I'm sure you can leave now," she said, "Thank you for finding her though."  
  
"NO!" Keagan screamed, "Stay with us Chris!"  
  
"Sweetie, Chris is a very busy man, I'm sure he has important things he needs to do--"  
  
"Not really," Chris interrupted with a smile, "I was just going to go home, but that's about it."  
  
"Well, if you want to stay, you're welcome to," Stephanie said, "You found my little girl, the least I can do is let you stay if you want."  
  
"I'll stay," he said, "You had an odd number anyways, now you're even so nobody has to be left out on any rides."  
  
Stephanie smiled at Chris. She was actually glad that she wouldn't be alone, at least for the day. They ate their candy apples before wandering around the park, going on various rides, and for the most part, Chris had been right, it was easier with four people. She actually found herself having a lot of fun.  
  
"You didn't have to stay, you know that right?" she asked as they watched Keagan and Ferris on the merry-go-round.  
  
"Yeah, but I wanted to," he said, "Its not like I go home to anybody."  
  
"No girlfriend?"  
  
"Please, with my schedule, I don't think I have the time," he said as he waved to the girls who were waving at them.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean, right now, its all about taking care of them," Stephanie said, "I'm sure you've heard about Hunter and how he basically decided that his children aren't worth the trouble anymore."  
  
"Well, not directly," he said, "I kind of figured that was an exaggeration."  
  
"Nope, not at all, he barely even calls. I'm sure you've noticed how quiet Ferris is, she's taking it hard," Stephanie said with a sad smile, "I brought them here to try and make them feel better, I know its like bribery, but--"  
  
"You just want what you think is best," he said, patting her hand, "I think the ride is over, how about we go on the teacups next?"  
  
She laughed, "Ok, but don't spin us too fast, I have a feeling you're going to try and make us throw up."  
  
"Never," he laughed with a mischievous glint in his eye as he walked to the exit of the merry-go-round.  
  
Stephanie watched him go get the girls. She was so glad she had run into him. This was the first time she had been happy in a long time. It seemed so natural to be here with him. And he was really great with her daughters, almost...father-like. Chris called out for her as he, Ferris, and Keagan headed for the teacups. She smiled and followed.  
  
What a strange turn of events had taken place that day. 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys. I'm glad you're still interested in this even though it took me forever to update it. And I still love reviews...::hint hint:: ;)

* * *

Chris adjusted the sleeping child in his arms. She wasn't that heavy, but her arm was flung down and made it a little awkward to carry her. She had fallen asleep at the restaurant they had stopped at for dinner. Instead of waking her up, Chris had offered to carry her so that she wouldn't wake up and be cranky. Stephanie unlocked the hotel room door as she led the sleepy Ferris inside. Stephanie led her to the girl's bedroom and handed Ferris her pajamas as Ferris went into the bathroom. Chris carefully set Keagan on the bed.  
  
"You can go wait in the living room if you want," Stephanie whispered, "I just need to get them to bed. Or you can leave, whichever, if you're too busy or have somewhere to be or something?"  
  
"I'll be in the living room," Chris smiled before leaving.  
  
He settled himself on the couch and turned on the television. He smiled as he thought about his day. It was rare for him to go out with people who didn't care about his status or fame, or even how much money he had. All Stephanie and her daughters had cared about was whether he was going to get sick from going on the Matterhorn or not. He saw a pink backpack lying on the ground and smiled again.  
  
Stephanie tucked Keagan into her bed after waking her up to go brush her teeth, which she sleepily did. She did the same for Ferris and kissed her on the forehead. Ferris gave her a sleepy smile before turning onto her side. Stephanie sat down on the edge of the bed and watched as Ferris drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Mommy," she said, her voice filled with the sleep that was just about to overcome her.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can Chris come with us tomorrow?"  
  
Stephanie's eyes widened at her daughter's request, "I don't know sweetie, Chris is a very busy man and he might have things to do."  
  
"Ask him..."  
  
She leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I'll ask him."  
  
As soon as she saw Ferris drift off to sleep she got up and went into the living room, half-expecting Chris to be gone by now. But there he was, sitting on the couch, smiling up at her. She smiled back as she collapsed onto the couch. He turned off the television and shifted himself on the couch so he was looking at her. She tucked one of her legs under her and looked back.  
  
"Thank you," she told him.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Today, everything about it. From finding Keagan to spending the day with us even though you didn't have to at all."  
  
"I had fun, so it was no problem at all," Chris told her, giving her a little grin.  
  
"I'm glad, but you really didn't need to."  
  
"It was nice," he told her, "I mean, spending the day with people when you know that they're not with you because you're famous or rich or anything. It was nice to feel wanted just for being me."  
  
"Then I'm happy I could give you that."  
  
"Me too," he paused and then choosing his next words carefully, "So what happened between you and Hunter? If you want to talk about it of course."  
  
"It's fine, I don't really mind," Stephanie said, "I don't really know, to tell you the truth. I had no idea he was even unhappy, or whatever he was. I just walked in on him screwing his physical therapist and it was all downhill from there."  
  
"And he gave you no indication?"  
  
"None at all. I didn't even know...I don't know, it was so crazy, I just wanted him out of my sight, I never really did find out the details of it all. I think that I was too scared to confront them. For a long time, I thought, maybe it was something I did, maybe I turned him away, I wasn't being a good enough wife to him. Now though, I realize that he's a selfish bastard who doesn't want to take responsibility. Because even if he hated me, that's no excuse to what he's doing to the girls."  
  
"Yeah," Chris nodded, "When was the last time they saw him?"  
  
"Just after the divorce. Then he moved away and won't come to see them. He tells me every time I call that he needs to 'focus on himself,' whatever the hell that means."  
  
"I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend any time away from those girls. They're really something special Stephanie, you're doing a great job."  
  
She put her hand on his arm and said genuinely, "Thank you so much, that really means a lot. Some days I think that I'm doing a horrible job."  
  
He put his hand on top of hers, "You are a great mother. I do notice that Ferris--"  
  
"Is awfully quiet," Stephanie finished. Chris nodded in agreement of her statement and she continued, "Yeah, I know, she...she thinks that Hunter doesn't love them anymore, and part of me thinks that she thinks it's her fault."  
  
"God, if I see Hunter in the street, can I have permission to kick his ass?"  
  
"You have more than my permission, you have my blessing," Stephanie answered, "She's taking it so hard, and I worry about her so much. She had a good time today, better than she's been in months, which is a good sign."  
  
"Yeah, it is good," he said.  
  
"So what about you, have you taken the walk down the aisle yet?"  
  
"Nope, not one marriage under my belt, you'd think I wasn't a real rock star or anything, I haven't had that drunken mistake wedding yet or anything."  
  
She laughed, "That's good though, I guess you're just holding out for the woman that would truly make you happy."  
  
"Yeah, I wish she would show up soon, I'm starting to get a little impatient, I mean, I'm not getting any younger," he smirked.  
  
"You're still hot stuff," Stephanie smiled, "So do you have any kids? I don't think I got to ask you that."  
  
"No kids," he said, "It's just me. Taking care of number one. I do so much touring and stuff, that it's hard to meet people. And then when I do meet people, they usually only want me because of my name, my money, and my status."  
  
"Yeah, I've seen you linked with some of the top actresses and models," Stephanie pointed out.  
  
"Exactly my point. They wouldn't be with me if I was a retired wrestler and that was all. I've come to expect that, but it would be nice if I could just find someone who didn't care about all of that."  
  
"Isn't that what we all want? Just someone to love us for who we are," she said, then added with a sigh, "I thought that I had that with Hunter, I was dead wrong of course, but I really wanted it."  
  
"There's still hope for the both of us," Chris said with a smile, "I better get going though, it's getting late and I've got a bit of a drive ahead of me."  
  
"Oh, ok," Stephanie said, a little sad that they had to end their day and their conversation. It had been nice to talk to an adult and not really have to worry about talking about her divorce or explaining things about herself. Chris just seemed to understand, he already knew so much about her. He stood up and she followed suit as they both walked to the door. He opened it and stepped out into the hallway as she leaned against the open door.  
  
"So thanks for today," Chris said, "I had a lot of fun."  
  
"Good, oh, before I forget, I promised Ferris something, and I don't go back on a promise to them...she wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with us tomorrow. We were going to hang out at the pool and probably go mini- golfing or something. Something totally kid-friendly and all that, and she wanted to know if you wanted to come because for the first time in a long time, I actually saw her having fun. You have no obligation to come of course, you're a busy man and we get that, but Ferris wanted me to ask you, so here I am, asking you?"  
  
"What time tomorrow?"  
  
"Well, they were really beat tonight, so they probably won't wake up until nine and then we'd have breakfast, so probably around 11:00 we'd head down to the pool. They have a couple of slides and stuff, so I thought it would be a fun thing. You really don't have to come though Chris, you probably have people you have to meet or something..." She didn't want to admit it, but she really wanted him to come with them tomorrow.  
  
"11:00, that's pretty early," he said, rubbing his chin.  
  
"Yeah, so you don't have to come, I mean, we understand that you have things and you aren't, you know, here with us, so forget it, I just asked because of Ferris, but forget it. It was really nice seeing you again Chris, and thank you again."  
  
"I can do 11:00," he said with a smile, "It's not a problem. I've been having fun so far, and I don't have anything to do, our new album is in post-production, the summer tour isn't kicking off until next month, I'm good. So I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Chris, if you're just doing this to be nice, please don't," Stephanie told him seriously.  
  
"I'm not," he told her, "I really like hanging out with you guys, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
He gave a small wave as Stephanie closed the door. She leaned against it for a moment with a smile etched on her face. She hated to think it, but being around Chris was more fun than she could ever remember. With that thought in mind, she got ready for bed and fell asleep with happiness that everything had gone well that day.  
  
Chris woke up early the next morning, hoping to get an early start for Orlando. He grabbed a cup of coffee and some toast before he was off in his car. Unfortunately, there was some early morning traffic and he ended up not getting to their hotel until 10:45. It was still early though, but he wanted to get there earlier, and he didn't know why. Ok, so he knew exactly why, but he couldn't articulate himself in front of her, he'd be too embarrassed.  
  
He went up to their room and knocked on the door. Stephanie answered a moment later and gave him a huge grin as she stepped out of the way to let him into the hotel room. Ferris and Keagan looked up from where they had been playing on the floor and their eyes lit up. Keagan ran over to him and started jumping up and down.  
  
"Chris, you're here! You're here!"  
  
"Hey there kiddo, of course I'm here, I was invited wasn't I?"  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said, "Thanks for being early."  
  
"I would've been earlier, but the traffic was horrible."  
  
"Chris, do you like my bathing suit, it's the one Mommy bought for me yesterday!" Keagan shouted as she showed off the bathing suit she was already wearing. It was a fuchsia color with a picture of Cinderella on it and underneath the word "Princess."  
  
"It's pretty," he told her.  
  
"Mommy got it for me because I'm a princess!"  
  
"Well, wouldn't you know, I always called your mommy a princess," Chris said as he smirked over at Stephanie.  
  
"Only cause you hated me," Stephanie shot back as she started to gather some towels, "Did you bring your bathing suit?"  
  
Chris looked down at his Hawaiian print board shorts, "No Stephanie, I just wear shorts like these all the time. Total fashion statement."  
  
"Smart ass," she muttered, "So who wants to go swimming?"  
  
"I do! Me!" Keagan said, running over to put her sandals on, "Chris are you going to go on the slide with me?"  
  
"If you want," Chris answered as Keagan ran over to grab his hand.  
  
"You can walk with me!"  
  
Chris laughed as he looked over at Stephanie and Ferris who was helping her carry some of the stuff. Keagan led him out of the room and the four of them started for downstairs. After consulting a map, they finally made it to the pool area. The pool itself was huge, and there were also surrounding pools and a lazy river with inner-tubes floating around. There were also the slides and an area meant to look like a beach with waves.  
  
"Nice place," Chris said, "Maybe I should do this at my house."  
  
"Yeah, good luck with that," Stephanie said as she and Ferris walked over to claim some seats.  
  
"Mommy, thank you for asking Chris," Ferris said quietly as she sat down on the chairs. Keagan was pulling Chris everywhere, in awe of her surroundings.  
  
"He wanted to come," Stephanie said, "I think he likes being around you."  
  
Ferris smiled, "I like him Mommy."  
  
Stephanie looked up at Chris, who was giving Keagan a piggy-back ride over to them, "I like him too Fer."  
  
"Hey Ferris, wanna go swimming?" Chris asked.  
  
"Yeah," Ferris answered, getting up, "Let's go."  
  
Stephanie watched as the three of them went over to the pool and Chris jumped in first. Ferris was the next to jump in since she could swim pretty well. Keagan, who had just started to take lessons made sure that Chris would catch her before she jumped into his arms. They made a nice picture. It was sad really, in two days, Chris had been more of a father to her daughters than their real father had been in months, and Chris wasn't even doing it for anything. He wasn't dating Stephanie, or trying to impress her, he was just a good guy...a GREAT guy.  
  
"Steph, you coming in? We're not having any fun without you!"  
  
"I'm coming," she said, putting their things down before going and doing a cannonball into the pool, causing the other three to laugh.  
  
The day was wonderful, at least in Stephanie's eyes. She hated getting ahead of herself, but she felt so at home with Chris, and the girls absolutely adored him. Keagan barely let him out of her sight, and even Ferris was glowing, a feeling she hadn't expressed since before the incident where Stephanie had found Hunter cheating. She actually found herself not worrying about anything, and focusing on having a good time.  
  
After they had gone swimming and had gone on all the little rides around the pool, they headed for a local mini-golfing place. Chris and Stephanie played with the girls, but they were more into just letting the kids have fun while they supervised. After the mini-golfing they decided to head back to the hotel to hang around for a while. The girls were really tired and fell asleep almost immediately upon arriving back at the hotel. This gave Stephanie and Chris some more time to talk, which both of them had been wanting to do all day long.  
  
They sat down on the balcony of the room, Stephanie sipping an iced tea and Chris nursing a beer. She glanced down nervously, and she couldn't quite figure out why. It wasn't like she had never talked to Chris before. It just seemed that this time was different. Granted, it had been years since they had really known each other.  
  
"I don't know how you do it Steph," he said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Take care of them day in and day out, by yourself, you're like Wonder Woman or something," he told her, "I'm so impressed by what you do."  
  
"Thanks," she said, blushing furiously at his words, "I'm just lucky they're not younger, with both of them in school, it'll make things easier."  
  
"Still. You're amazing, I just wanted to tell you that," he said, "I don't know what Hunter was thinking when he let you go."  
  
"Probably that he didn't want kids or a wife or anything. He copped out on everything."  
  
"He's a fool."  
  
"I'm glad you agree."  
  
"Steph," Chris said slowly, "I know this is going to sound weird, and I'm sure it will sound weird, but um, did you maybe want to go out sometime. I mean, while you're down here, I know you're here for the next few days, and I thought that maybe we could go out..."  
  
"Fer and Keags," Stephanie said, "I can't just leave them."  
  
"Oh, I know, I totally understand, but if we went down to Tampa, I could get one of the guys to baby-sit for them. Christian or something, I'm sure he'd volunteer, he needs the practice since his wife is pregnant."  
  
"Well, um, if it's not a lot of trouble to get a baby-sitter, I guess I'd be interested in going," she told him. It would be her first date since her first date with Hunter almost eleven years ago. She almost didn't know how to feel.  
  
"If we can't, they can come along," Chris told her.  
  
"Ok, so I guess it's a date." 


	6. Chapter 6

"Thanks man."

"I can't believe YOU are going on a date with Stephanie Helmsley," Christian said in disbelief.

"McMahon. She goes by McMahon again."

"But dude, you can have any woman in the world...you've dated some of the hottest women in the world, and you asked out Stephanie! She was married to Hunter for God's sake! Hunter Hearst Helmsley!"

"Yeah, and he left them. He doesn't even care about his own daughters!" Chris said angrily, his hatred for Hunter mounting every time he thought about Hunter and how he had abandoned two of the most adorable kids ever.

Christian shook his head, "I can't imagine ever leaving Denise or Matthew."

"So you decided on a name finally?"

"Yeah, and with not much fighting."

"Well, anyways, thanks for baby-sitting. They're really great kids. Nothing like Hunter."

"Well, I need the practice...look, I have nothing against Stephanie, I just...you left wrestling, it's just weird thinking that you're back in that life."

"I still have friends in the business you know, you're one of them."

"Yeah, but Stephanie's family runs the company, what compelled you to ask her out...I thought you were over her."

"I thought I was too," he sighed, looking away for a moment. "I tried and I think I actually did, but then I see her and she...it all came back. It's not like I wanted to, I just ran into her."

"Yeah, but you can't let her...never mind, I hope you have fun, bring the kids over whenever you feel like bringing them over."

"Don't worry, I will."

Chris left Christian's house shortly after, and walked back to his house. It was fortunate for him that Christian lived only about three blocks away from his own home. It was such a beautiful afternoon, he didn't feel like spending it cooped up inside the house, and a walk felt like the best thing to do at the moment. When he arrived at his house, he saw a familiar rental car in the driveway and three girls sitting on his front step. Keagan was the first to spot him.

"Chris! We've been waiting forever," she said, dragging the last word out in only the way kids could.

Chris walked happily up his drive, "What are you three doing here so early? I thought that you were coming by later."

"I was going to, but you try telling these girls no," Stephanie laughed as she stood up and dusted off her shorts.

"Chris, we wanted to come see you!" Keagan said as she ran over to him. Chris picked her up easily as she threw her arms around him. "I had to wait all day and Mommy kept telling me that it wasn't time yet, and I told her that she could make it time if we left."

"I don't know where she got the speed-talking from," Stephanie said as she walked over, "But when you can't get a word in edgewise with her, you can pretty much only give in to her demands. It wasn't like she was asking much."

"No," Chris said, "And besides, I like seeing you guys."

"Well, good then," Stephanie smiled, then looked down, "I really hope we aren't inconveniencing you by coming over so early."

"Nope, it's cool," he told them, "Hey Ferris, what's up?"

"Nothing," she replied with a small smile. She walked over to Stephanie and tugged on the waist of her jeans. Stephanie leaned down and Ferris whispered something in her ear, covertly covering her mouth with her hand so nobody would hear.

"Oh," Stephanie nodded seriously. "Chris, would it be ok if we went inside?"

"Sure," he said, walking over to the front door as he grabbed his house key with one hand and held Keagan with the other. Once he unlocked the door, he stepped into the large front hall and threw his keys haphazardly onto the front table before turning around to face Stephanie once again.

"Chris, could you please direct us to the bathroom?" Stephanie asked.

"Oh yeah, sure," Chris said, just now realizing what Ferris had whispered into Stephanie's ear. "It's down that hall and the fourth door on your left. Can't miss it because the door is open and you can see it's a bathroom."

"Thanks," Stephanie smiled gratefully.

Chris stood there with Keagan in his arms, who turned to look at him, "Chris, is this where you live?"

"Yeah, this is where I live."

"It's big, like our house."

"Well, I need a lot of space."

"Oh," she nodded seriously, "We have lots of toys at our house, you don't have any toys do you?"

"No, no toys," he said, "But I do have something else I think you'll think is fun."

"What?" she asked excitedly.

Chris took her into the living room and over to one wall. Almost the entire wall was taken up by a huge fish tank that sported many exotic and colorful fish. Chris set Keagan down on the ground and she looked up at it in awe, going up close to it so her face was practically smushed against the glass. Chris kneeled next to her and pointed out some of the more interesting fish.

"You're really smart Chris," Keagan told him, "My daddy is smart too, he used to read me the best bedtime stories, and he was teaching me about wrestling."

"Well, maybe sometime I can come over and teach you about wrestling," Chris told her, "I think I know just as much as your daddy does."

"Wow," Keagan whispered, "My daddy knows a lot."

"We're back and refreshed," Stephanie said with a smile as she and Ferris entered the room.

"Mommy, Chris was showing me the fish," Keagan said as she ran over to Stephanie and pulled her over to the gigantic fish tank.

"Impressive spread you've got around here Chris. You've really made a name for yourself," Stephanie complimented.

"Thanks, I figured after the years of hard work that when I started to rake in the money, I should splurge a little."

"Mommy! Chris said that he would teach me about wrestling!" Keagan said, jumping up and down in front of Stephanie. Stephanie scooped her up in her arms so she could look at Keagan eye-to eye.

"Did he?"

"Uh huh, and he said he knew as much as Daddy, that's a lot Mommy!"

"I know, but I bet Chris does know a lot."

"So Stephanie, did you want to hang around here a little bit, or we could drop the kids off at Christian's and go..." Chris said, leaving any option open to her. He didn't want to make it seem like he was rushing her or anything. If anything, he wanted tonight to be about her and what she wanted to do. With a little help from him of course.

"Chris, I wanna stay with you," Keagan whined from Stephanie's arms. "Can we stay with you for a while?"

"Yeah, of course, and then we can all go over to Christian's, you know Christian right?" Stephanie said, looking at her.

"I know who he is Mommy," Ferris interrupted. "Will he be the one taking care of us tonight?"

"Yes, if you don't mind?" Stephanie asked. If Ferris made even the tiniest indication that she wouldn't be comfortable being with someone else this evening, then Stephanie would either take them along or not go. Keagan and Ferris would always come first.

"I don't mind Mommy," Ferris smiled.

"Me neither! I know who Christian is, he's the one with the brother and Christian wears funny glasses!"

"That's right," Stephanie said, kissing her nose, "You're so smart."

"I know Mommy," Keagan said, showing no humility whatsoever. Chris smiled at Stephanie from a distance and she caught it on his face before she smiled back.

Chris proceeded to show them his fish tank before he took them on a tour of the whole house. Stephanie was quite impressed by everything. She knew that Chris had escalated his band into one of the premiere bands of metal, and that he had gone so mainstream that everyone knew who Fozzy was, but she had never seen just how far it went. But seeing all his platinum records hanging on the walls, she couldn't deny how successful he had really become.

They eventually took Keagan and Ferris over to Christian's, where they didn't put up too much of a fight at leaving. Keagan had whined a little at having to leave Chris, but she eventually got over it as Christian showed them all the cartoons he had on tape. Keagan's hesitance at letting Chris and Stephanie leave was quickly forgotten as a new distraction came to view.

"Christian, they usually eat around seven and they're in bed by nine at the very latest. You can just put them on a couch and they'll fall asleep. I brought their pajamas if they really want to change into them and some books and toys for them in case they get bored."

"We'll be fine Stephanie, I hope you two have fun." Christian sent Chris a look, which Chris rewarded with a dirty look. He didn't need his friend to try and tell him if what he was doing was right or not.

"Thanks man," Chris said, patting his back as he waved to the girls and escorted Stephanie out of the house. He turned to her as the door closed behind them and said, "Hi."

She smiled, "Hi, how are you?"

"I'm great. I hope we'll have fun tonight. I wanted to take you to some places. Very casual, so you know, it's not intimidating for you or anything. I figure it's been a while since you've been on a date, so I just want to make this a kind of casual thing for you."

"Thanks," she said genuinely. She didn't know if he could read her mind, but he seemed to be doing just that at the moment. "It's been about eleven years since my last first date."

"Yeah, that's a long time, so if you want to think of this as just a couple of friends hanging out and what-not, that'll probably ease any nervousness you're feeling."

"How could you tell that I was nervous?"

Chris didn't want to tell her the truth. The truth was he had watched her for years in the company. He had liked her, from the moment he had seen her, but by the time he actually gathered up any courage to do something about the crush, Stephanie was already in Hunter's arms. He had always somewhat regretted that he hadn't asked her out sooner, but seeing her happy with Hunter, it was what he wanted for her and so he never over-stepped his boundaries...until now.

"You just seem nervous," he finally answered as they took off in his car. He figured that answer would calm her down and it did a good job of it as he continued to drive to where he wanted to take her.

Stephanie soon found them driving by what appeared to be a beach. Ok so it didn't appear to be a beach, it was either a beach or it wasn't, and this was a beach. Chris pulled into a spot and turned off the engine before turning to Stephanie briefly before moving himself so that he could face her without straining his neck.

"I hope you don't mind that I wanted to go to the beach."

"No, this is fine. I have to wonder what we're going to do though."

"Well, it's a surprise of sorts, but how about we go get our dinner."

"Are we going to go clam-digging or something and have to search for our supper?" Stephanie joked.

"No, but I'm going to admit it's not fancy."

"Well, good, because I doubt I'm dressed for fancy," she answered. He looked her over in her tight jeans and red top with silver glitter Mickey Mouse ears on them.

"You're dressed just right."

"Great then."

They got out of the car and Chris took her hand, a little tentatively until his grip was returned. She tilted her head to him and smiled as he led them over to a cart on one of the piers or docks, or whatever this was. She stood by him as he ordered two corndogs and two lemonades. After he paid and received the food, he handed one of the corndogs and one of the lemonades to Stephanie as they went to sit on a nearby bench.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to be eating corndogs on a pier, but I have to say this is fun."

Chris grinned, "Good, I just thought that going fancy would be, I don't know, too constricting."

"It would've been. I like that this doesn't have to be a meet and greet date and dinner."

They ate in silence, finishing off their corndogs and throwing their sticks away in the trashcan. Chris took Stephanie's hand again as they sipped their lemonade and just walked down to the beach. Suddenly, Chris broke out into a run and almost dragged Stephanie behind him.

"Chris, where are we going?"

"I want to show you my special place!" he yelled at her.

"What special place?"

He slowed down so she could catch up, "Just a place that I like to go to escape. Sometimes I need a place where I don't have to be Chris Jericho, the rockstar."

"Oh, I completely understand," Stephanie responded, "So I'm privileged enough to see this 'secret spot' of yours?"

"Yup," he nodded impishly.

"And how many of your girlfriends have seen this place?"

"None, nobody's seen it."

Stephanie was a little caught by surprise in his revelation. She wondered why he would show her this place and not one of his girlfriends or friends. She didn't have time to dwell on it as he led her over to some rocks that they had to climb. It wasn't a difficult climb, but it certainly wasn't easy. Once she reached the top of the tall rock, she saw a little secluded part of the beach, the water lapping up quietly before fading out into the crystal blue waters. Chris led her over to the beach and plopped down ungracefully into the sand. Stephanie joined him.

"This is so beautiful," Stephanie told him, looking at him one moment and then out to the horizon the next. The sun was starting to dip below that far away horizon, fading from sight to signify the end of another day. "Now I can see why you come here."

"Yeah, sometimes I just need to think, clear my head."

"I know how you feel. I've wanted to clear my head too. Sometimes, I just...it gets so hard you know."

"I'm really sorry about everything that happened with Hunter."

"It's not so much what he did to me that bothers me. It's just the fact that he hasn't owned up to any of his responsibilities after the fact. Those responsibilities being Keagan and Ferris."

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend two seconds away from them."

"It's so sad Chris, you've been more of a father to them than Hunter has." Chris was touched by that statement, and even though he hadn't been doing anything that he considered special, it warmed his heart a little that Stephanie considered it to be something great in her book.

"They're good kids Stephanie."

Stephanie's eyes clouded with tears, and she wasn't exactly sure of the reason. For months, she had taken on the responsibility of being both Keagan and Ferris's mother AND father. She had seen them through days where all they wanted was Hunter, and she couldn't produce him out of thin air for her. Some days, she did feel like giving up, saying that she couldn't do it anymore, that she wasn't strong enough.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," Chris said softly, giving her a look of worry. He hadn't wanted this date to be upsetting for her. "I can take you home."

"It's not that," Stephanie said, "I just don't think you realize how much you've helped me these past few days."

"Helped you? I don't understand."

Stephanie wiped her eyes surreptitiously. "I wasn't lying when I said that you had been more of a father to Keag and Fer. And that makes me so incredibly sad, you know, because it's not your job to be their father. You were only doing it out of the goodness of your heart, but I've been so...alone these past months, and I don't know...thank you."

Chris didn't know what to say to that. If her words had touched him before, these were going straight to his heart. He had been alone too, mostly by choice for the past year or so. In his line of business it was hard to trust people's motives, and it was hard for people to look past who he was for the world, to see who he was in private.

"I know how you feel alone. Sometimes...I just wish that I hadn't decided to pursue Fozzy."

"But why?" Stephanie asked. "You have everything you've ever dreamed of. Fame, fortune, and you can have anything and anyone you want."

"But sometimes that's not what I want. At least when I was in wrestling, I knew who my friends were because I wasn't any better than anyone else there. Now...now people see me as being better than people and it's hard to stay that way, or hard to find someone who also doesn't think you're above them."

"So I guess we're both a little screwed up," Stephanie said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess we are. But nobody said life was going to be easy and a breeze. Not even when you have as much money as we do."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that money can't buy you everything?" Stephanie joked. "It certainly couldn't buy me a husband who wouldn't cheat on me and then desert his children."

"And I guess it can't buy me happiness," Chris said, "I wish it could though, sometimes, when I look at people around me and realize that they're only there because they want to be around someone famous."

Stephanie looked at the sand around her feet for a moment, wiggling her toes in deeper, feeling the cool sand run in between her toes. "I'm not around you because you're famous."

Chris looked at her and smiled, "Thanks."

They sat there watching the water lap up around their feet, becoming progressively closer to their sitting forms. As the sun finally dipped all the way below the ocean and the moon came out to begin its nightly watch over the land, Chris stood up and held his hand out to Stephanie. She took it and got up herself as she followed him back over the rocks and to the regular part of the beach.

They drove to Christian's house and got the kids as they went back to Chris's house. Stephanie and Chris loaded the girls into the car, since they were both asleep. She left the doors open and walked Chris to his door. They stood there a moment before Chris laughed.

"I'm not usually the one getting walked to my door," he smiled.

"I'm not usually doing the walking," she responded.

"Thanks for a great evening," Chris said, "I did have fun."

"I had fun too, and you helped me say a lot of things that I was afraid to say to anyone."

"Then I'm glad I got the opportunity to help you out." He then stayed silent for a minute or so and Stephanie thought that was all he was going to say and almost turned to walk away when he spoke up, albeit quietly and very nervously. "Um...can I kiss you?"

She had never asked to be kissed before. Usually the guy would just go in for the kill and kiss her, regardless if she wanted it or not. But here Chris was, proving once again that he was different from any other guy she had ever known. He was nervous, wringing his hands a little and staring at her. But not a creepy, stalker kind of staring, but just a nervous, 'will she let me?' kind of staring. She nodded and smirked. Relieved, he leaned in a little closer and softly captured her lips. He wasn't making it a deep kiss, just sweet enough.

Stephanie, she kissed him back, and then her mind shot to life. This was wrong, she wasn't ready to be kissing anybody. She was still feeling the raw hurt from Hunter's betrayal and his leaving. This felt so wrong. She pulled away abruptly and Chris opened his eyes to stare at her. She tried to catch her breath for a moment, her eyes stricken and wide.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I can't do this, I can't kiss you...I'm sorry."

Chris shook his head, "It's ok, I understand, you're still--"

"No, I--I have to go...I'm sorry, I can't," Stephanie stuttered as she started to back away from him.

"Stephanie, come on, it's fine," Chris pleaded with her. He didn't want her to leave. He shouldn't have kissed her. He should've known after their talk earlier that she wasn't ready. She hadn't even kissed another man in eleven years, and here he was, practically forcing one on her.

"I have to go, thanks for helping me these past few days, I appreciate it. Um...have a good life."

"So I can't talk to you anymore?" Chris asked, confused now.

"I can't...I'm sorry, I have to go, and we're leaving the day after tomorrow and...I have to go." At this point, Stephanie was just blathering nonsense.

"Before you go," Chris said, looking down, "Um...do you have my CD, 'The First Frontier?'"

"Yeah, I have it," she told him, then said dumbly, "Keagan loves the pictures on the cover."

"Number five," he said simply, "Just listen to number five...I wrote it about you."

He didn't say anything else, just looked down and then up as she walked away quickly, closing the doors to the car before climbing in and driving away. It wasn't until she was on the freeway that she realized that she hadn't said goodbye, and neither had he. She felt bad for that, but she couldn't stay there, it was so wrong. She got back to the hotel room and after she put the girls to bed, she went rooting through Keagan's backpack. Keagan always insisted on bringing every CD she owned, and she had that Fozzy CD with her because she thought the cover was pretty because it was colorful. She had never even listened to the CD, but she loved the artwork on it. Same thing with the Beatle's, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" CD that Keagan always took. She had never even heard the Beatles, but she loved that cover so much she still brought it with her. Stephanie grabbed the CD player she had brought for the plane ride and put it on, with the CD and put it on number five, the only ballad like song on the album, titled, "Leaving."

She let the song play as she sat back on the couch and closed her eyes.

_Light, seeps from your eyes_

_And I am mesmerized by the shining that you do_

_Only it's never for me, still_

_I can't help but feel the way I feel _

_Or see the way I see, and you are blind_

_My hope is suspended_

_In your heart_

_So here I am, leaving it behind_

_For good_

_Walk away at the last moment of the day_

_Not looking back at what could've been_

_I'm not a fan _

_Of looking behind the curtains_

_That separated_

_The truth from the dream_

_So I leave it to you_

_Cause the notion of trying_

_Is too hard to fathom_

_Like the wind that flows through _

_Your brown hair_

_So here I am, leaving it behind _

_For good_

_Walk away at the last moment of the day_

_Not looking back at what could've been_

_Not looking back at what could've been_


	7. Chapter 7

"Mommy, why couldn't we see Chris before we left?"

Stephanie looked to Keagan and smiled sadly before answering, "Well, Chris got called away at the last minute, but he wanted me to tell you that he was going to miss you."

"Really?" Ferris asked, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"Yeah," Stephanie said, knowing that if she hadn't been the coward that she was that would be exactly what Chris would've said.

She was still mulling over her decision to run away from Chris. She felt so embarrassed by it. Not so much the not kissing him part, but the running away part. Chris was an intelligent man and he would've understood that it was still too soon for her. But she ran away because she was so scared. She was scared that she might feel something, and the hurt from Hunter's betrayal still ran too deep.

"Can we see him again, can we Mommy?" Keagan asked, standing on the seat of her chair on the airplane.

"I don't know Keag, he's very busy."

"Oh," Keagan said, her face falling a little. "Can we call him when we get home?"

"We'll see, but don't you want to call Daddy when we get home, maybe he'll want to talk to you," Stephanie said, hoping that Hunter would want to talk to them. She hadn't called him since their vacation began, but he hadn't even tried to contact her. She had a feeling that he was fine with not talking to his daughters in the past several days.

"Ok, I like talking to Daddy, I'll tell him about DisneyWorld!" Keagan said, her spirits up again.

The rest of the plane trip was rather uneventful and soon Stephanie was driving to her parent's house. She didn't feel like getting food or cooking so she had called her mother saying they would come over for dinner. She also wanted to talk to her mother about what had happened. She could probably put a new light on it.

After the dinner, in which Keagan and Ferris told Vince and Linda all about their trip, Stephanie and Linda put a video on for Keagan and Ferris before going for tea in the adjoining kitchen. Stephanie had caught the looks from Linda when Keagan had mentioned Chris. She knew she was going to have some explaining to do.

"So you saw Chris?"

"More like he saved my life," Stephanie said as she sipped her tea, blowing on it to cool it down. "He found Keagan for me when she wandered off."

"He did?" Linda asked, looking at Stephanie. "How did that happen?"

"You know how she wanders off. Chris was doing a radio thing and he saw her looking for me and he took her and took care of her until I found her."

"So that's how you ran into him," Linda nodded. "And how is he?"

"He's great Mom, he's happy, and he's wealthy, and he looks really good."

"So he looked good?"

Stephanie laughed a little, "Yes Mom, he looked really, really good. And he was so great with the girls," Stephanie said. Some tears were coming to her eyes and she felt so foolish. They were probably a mixture of her gaffe during their date and the fact that he did treat her daughters so well.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Linda asked, putting her hand over Stephanie's and giving it a light squeeze.

Stephanie looked to the ceiling, trying to stop the onrush of tears, "He was just more of a father to Keag and Fer than Hunter has been, and...I ran away."

"You ran away from what?"

"I ran away from him. I must be so stupid," Stephanie said, "I can't believe I did that."

"What happened?" Linda asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this. "I thought that he just found Keagan."

"He did, but the girls took to him so much that he spent the day after that with us too, and Mom, Ferris was having such a good time with him. She was smiling and laughing, and just being a little kid instead of how she's been recently."

"That's a wonderful thing sweetie, that means that they're starting to get over Hunter leaving," Linda said, saying kind things to try and get a smile back on her daughter's face. She hated seeing her daughter so upset like this. She had had to witness Stephanie go through a difficult divorce, and didn't want to see her daughter go through such pain again.

"It was wonderful, he was wonderful. Ferris even told me she liked him, do you know how big that is?"

"It's big," Linda agreed.

"Then Chris asked me out on a date," Stephanie said quietly.

"Did you go?" Linda asked anxiously. She had been trying to set up Stephanie with someone for a couple of months now, but Stephanie had always refused.

"Yeah, I did."

"And?"

"It was fun, he was terrific, he even let me talk about Hunter if I wanted to. He made me feel so good, like I didn't have to worry."

"So you're going to see him again then?"

Stephanie shook her head. "I screwed it up Mom. He kissed me and I ran away. I just couldn't do it though. I'm so scared that I'm tainted or defective. I mean, Hunter left me for another woman, and Chris is on the road so much, and if I got involved with him, then he might cheat on me, and I can't go through that again."

Linda got out of her chair and went over to where Stephanie was. She hugged Stephanie to her and Stephanie sobbed into her mother's shirt. She thought that she was over Hunter, and in most ways she was. But she was also still hurting from his betrayal. It hurt to be the one who got cheated on. It hurt to be left behind in the dust. She had spent so much time trying to cheer up the girls, she had forgotten to think of herself.

"How do you know if you don't try sweetie," Linda whispered. "It may be hard, but eventually you're going to find someone that you love."

"What if there isn't anyone?" 

"With a face like yours," Linda said with a laugh. "I can't imagine how you're going to be single for much longer. But you have to go at your own pace."

Keagan ran into the room right then, and though she was going to ask a question, she saw her mother crying and frowned, "Mommy, why are you sad?"

Stephanie wiped her eyes, "No reason baby, I was just thinking about how much I'll miss DisneyWorld."

"Me too!" Keagan said. "But we can go back, don't cry Mommy."

Keagan went over and hugged Stephanie as Linda took a step back. Stephanie hugged Keagan tightly and kissed her head. "Thank you Keags, I needed a hug."

"Mommy, can we go home and call Chris now? Pretty, pretty please?"

"I don't know sweetie, I thought you wanted to call Daddy when we got home."

"We can call Daddy too! I want to tell Chris about the plane ride and how I got a new coloring book at the airport! He said that he liked to color and he can come visit and we can share it!" Keagan said, jumping up and down. Stephanie sent a look to Linda, a look that said how much the girls had gotten attached to Chris over the short time period.

"But what about Daddy?"

"Daddy doesn't come see us anymore, so he won't color with me," Keagan said, looking down at the ground.

Stephanie mentally slapped herself for bringing up Hunter like that, knowing that the girls both knew what was going on with the Hunter situation. They were starting to see that Hunter wouldn't be back anytime soon, and they were still working to get over that. Stephanie could only imagine what their little hearts were going through, and she didn't want to see anymore frowns from them.

"I think that I have Chris's phone number, we can call him if you'd like."

"Yay! FERRIS, MOMMY SAID WE CAN CALL CHRIS!" Keagan shouted while running into the other room.

"I better go Mom, if I want to catch him."

"Think about what we said here," Linda said. "Don't run away, you have to face your fear."

"I'll try Mom."

Stephanie got up and gathered the girls and their things, piling back into her car. They drove across town to their house and she pulled into her driveway with a happy sigh. She was glad to be home, with her own bed and her own things. The girls were anxious too as they waited at the front door for Stephanie to open the door. They ran inside and Keagan ran around saying hello to everything that she missed while Ferris diligently turned on the lights and helped Stephanie with the bags.

"Is it true that we can call Daddy and call Chris?" Ferris asked.

"Yeah, I promised Keags and you know I don't go back on a promise."

"Never Mommy," she said with a small smile.

"Who do you want to call first?"

"Can we call Daddy first, he probably won't talk as much as Chris would," Ferris said, remembering the previous conversations with her father.

"Yeah, we can do that," Stephanie said, leaning down to kiss Ferris's head. "Keagan, we're going to call Daddy!"

Keagan appeared as if from nowhere, running into Stephanie's arms. "DADDY!"

They walked over to the phone and Stephanie dialed the number, handing the phone to Keagan. Keagan held it to her and looked at Stephanie as she listened to it ring. Stephanie hoped he was around and picking up his phone so they could talk to him.

"Hello?"

"DADDY!"

"Kooky pie, is that you?" Hunter asked.

"Uh huh," Keagan nodded. "It's Keagan."

"Did you call me all by yourself?"

"No," she said like it should've been obvious she hadn't. "I had Mommy's help. We just got home from DisneyWorld, and it was so much fun!"

"Really, wow, that does sound like fun? What did you do there?"

"I got a Princess outfit and I went on the rides, and it was fun," Keagan said happily.

"Wow, you're such a big girl."

"I know, do you want to talk to Fer?" 

"Of course," Hunter answered.

"Ferris, Daddy wants to talk to you," Keagan said, thrusting the phone in her sister's direction. Ferris took the phone and smiled at Stephanie.

"Hi Daddy."

"Hey Fer, I heard you went on a trip."

"Yes, Mommy, Keagan and me. We went to DisneyWorld."

"I wish I could've been there."

"It's ok Daddy, we were fine," Ferris said. "We didn't even need you there."

Stephanie was a little surprised that Ferris had been so blunt with Hunter. Hunter was even more surprised, never hearing that kind of words from Ferris. Usually she would sound sad, but she sounded so confident, like she knew exactly the effect the words would have on her father.

"Well...that's good to hear."

"Yeah, it was very fun," Ferris said. "I better go though, Mommy said we could call someone else."

Ferris wasn't stupid; she knew that her mother probably wouldn't want to say anything about Chris to her father. Ferris was very smart for her age. She had begun walking months earlier than expected, and she was already reading at a fifth grade level even though she was only in the first grade. They were looking to skip a grade with her, and so she was no dummy.

"Oh, Grandma and Grandpa?" Hunter asked, wondering who else they could call.

"Do you want to talk to Mommy?" Ferris asked, looking at Stephanie, not answering Hunter's question.

"No, that's ok, tell Keagan I love her, and I love you too."

"Bye Daddy." Ferris hung up the phone before Hunter could say anything else and looked up at Stephanie with a smile. "Mommy, can we call Chris now?"

Stephanie looked at Ferris for a moment; it seemed she really did take after her mother, because that was just cold. Stephanie nodded an answer and took the phone from Ferris, taking a phone number out of her pocket and dialing it before handing the phone back to Ferris. Ferris waited for someone to pick up this time, instead of Keagan.

"Chris Jericho here."

"Chris?"

"Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Ferris."

"Ferris! What are you doing calling here?" Chris said happily. If Ferris was calling, that meant Stephanie was nearby. And if Stephanie was nearby than he could talk to her hopefully. He hadn't liked the way things had ended up between them, and if he was going to fix things, now would be the time. He couldn't let Stephanie slip through his fingers again.

"Mommy said we could," Ferris answered. "Keagan and I wanted to say hi, and that we miss you."

"I miss you guys too. Who am I going to hang out with while you're not here?"

Ferris laughed, and it made Stephanie smile. "You should come visit us."

"Well, you'd have to ask your mommy about that, because I don't want to be rude."

"Did you want to talk to Keagan?"

"Are you finished talking, cause if you want to talk more, I'll listen."

"I think Keagan is going to pull my hair if she doesn't talk to you," Ferris said.

"Oh well then, we don't want your pretty hair pulled, you better put her on."

Keagan jumped up and down when she got the phone, "Chris! Guess what!"

"What?" Chris said excitedly.

"Mommy bought me a coloring book and you HAVE to come here so we can share!"

"Wow, what kind of coloring book?"

"It's a zoo coloring book and it has all the animals from the zoo on it. I'm going to draw the giraffe blue!"

"But giraffes aren't blue silly."

"I know," Keagan giggle wildly. "But I like blue giraffes, they would be funny to look at. I want you here so we can color!"

"Well that would be fun, but you know what?"

"What?"

"I would color the elephant green."

"Elephants aren't green!"

"But I like them!"

Keagan laughed, "You're copying me!"

"No," he said jokingly. "I want a green elephant."

"Come see us Chris, I miss you and so does Mommy!"

Stephanie's eyes widened at the word and snatched the phone away from Keagan before she could say anything else. Keagan crinkled her face up and crossed her arms petulantly, mad that Stephanie had interrupted her conversation with Chris. Chris, on the other line, was pleasantly surprised by Keagan's revelation. Keagan was four, and it was rare that she would just out and out lie. The tables were turning his way.

"Hi Chris," Stephanie said, "Keagan was just speaking, but she didn't know what she was saying."

"So you don't miss me?"

"I mean...Chris, I'm sorry about what happened the other night, but I can't do this. I can't date anyone, least of all you."

Well that tugged at his heart a little bit. "What do you mean, 'least of all me'?"

"You know too much," she said. "You know about Hunter, and it would just be too awkward."

"Did you listen to the song?" he asked. He had been almost embarrassed to admit he had written a song about her, but what did he have to lose anyways. Not much.

"I did, and I thank you for caring about me enough to write a song, but Chris, I just can't date anyone right now, and I'm sorry."

He sighed. "I understand. But if there's--"

"No Chris, there's no chance," she said softly.

"Oh. I hope you'll allow the girls to call me still," he said.

"I don't know Chris. If they want to, they can, but if they don't, please don't have any hard feelings."

"I won't," he told her. "I'm going out on the road in a month, we're doing a long tour of Europe and the States, so you won't have to hear from me. I hope that you find whatever it is you're looking for Stephanie."

"Thanks Chris, I'm sorry about the other night, I really am."

"It's cool, this isn't anything sleeping with a bunch of groupies won't cure."

Stephanie laughed, "Don't do that."

"Thanks for being honest with me Stephanie."

"Thanks for understanding me Chris."


	8. Chapter 8

Stephanie sighed deeply. It had been two months since she had rejected Chris and she was kind of missing him. Not that she didn't know exactly where to reach him. He was on the road on tour for his newest album, but Keagan and Ferris called him at least twice a week just to tell him what they had been up to that week, or to tell him something important.

Chris didn't seem to mind all that much, or at all, judging by how he always answered the phone when they called. He must have them on his caller ID so he in no way HAD to answer the phone, but he always did. She wouldn't have blamed him if he had stopped answering, considering Keagan and Ferris were not his children and he didn't have to indulge them or feel obligated to speak to them on such a regular basis.

Hunter, on the other hand, the girls, more specifically Ferris, they hardly wanted to talk to him at all. She made a conjecture that they were finally realizing the extent of their father's selfishness. Their phone calls to him got progressively shorter, while the phones calls to Chris got longer. In fact, Ferris was on the phone with him at this very moment.

Stephanie stayed out of the conversations; she had never encroached upon the girl's time with Chris. She tried to convince herself that it was because she wanted to let them have their own time with Chris. But let's be honest, Stephanie was scared out of her wits to Chris. And she avoided the phone like the plague. That's why she was in the kitchen while Ferris was in the playroom talking to Chris on the phone.

"And we're learning to write sentences," Ferris told Chris, "But I already know how to do that."

"Because you're so smart," Chris told her. "So are you just writing the sentences even though you know how?"

"Yeah, Mommy said I could 'brush up,' but I don't know what that means, do you know Chris?"

"It just means you can get better at something you're already good at."

"Oh! Thanks Chris," Ferris exclaimed, thinking at that moment that Chris was the smartest person she had ever met. "Are you singing tonight?"

"Nope, I have tonight off, but I'm singing tomorrow night."

"Is it going to be in front of a lot of people?"

"Yeah, there's going to be thousands and thousands of people there."

"I'd be scared."

"That's too bad, I was going to invite you to sing with me," he joked.

She giggled, "No, you weren't!"

Sometimes Chris forgot she was a little girl because she was so smart. She could sustain a complex, almost adult conversation and she wasn't even ten years old, or even really closing in on ten. She didn't even really sound childish sometimes. He had never met anyone her age who was so well-versed. He was amazed someone like this could've come from any of Hunter's DNA, but she was more like Stephanie than anything else.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to embarrass you...where's your sister?"

"She went out with Grandpa, but I didn't feel like going."

"Why not?"

"Because Mommy needs the company," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Is she alone a lot?"

"All the time."

Chris frowned, though he knew that Ferris couldn't see him, though that was probably better, it would bring up a lot of questions even someone as smart as her wouldn't necessarily understand. This came up a lot in every conversation he had with the girls. Stephanie may not want him, but he still worried about her. Both Ferris and Keagan had relayed to him the fact that Stephanie was alone all the time. He didn't like the idea that she was closing herself off from people that weren't her family. He didn't want her to be sad or lonely, even if he couldn't be the one to ease her loneliness.

"Does she ever go out?"

"With Grandma, but not a lot," Ferris admitted."Oh," Chris said, pursing his lips. "So where is she right now?""In the kitchen, I think. She doesn't stay in the room when we talk to you. She said it was to give us privacy."

"Would it be ok if I talked to her?"

"Sure! I think she'd like that!"

"Great."

Ferris hopped off the couch and bounded into the kitchen. Stephanie was sitting at the counter, munching on some crackers. She looked up, startled by Ferris's appearance in the kitchen. Thinking she was finished with her phone call to Chris, she took the phone that Ferris thrust into her face.

"Mommy, Chris wanted to talk to you," Ferris told her.

Stephanie almost dropped the phone. She wasn't prepared to talk to Chris. She was still embarrassed about what had happened, and she couldn't talk to him, not now, not ever. But she still looked at the phone, Chris waiting on the other line. She slowly brought the phone up to her ear and cringed a little before even attempting to speak.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, hi," Chris said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I was just talking to Ferris, and well, it was brought up that you're alone a lot, and I was just a little worried about you."

Stephanie thought it was sweet that he worried about her, but what did Chris know? He wasn't even around, she could be going out all the time, and Chris wouldn't even know. Except he had just said that Ferris had said that she was alone a lot. And it was true, she knew she was kind of isolating herself from people, but she was still getting over a very messy divorce, and her heart hadn't quite healed yet, and she needed it to heal before she could even attempt to go out and have fun.

"You don't have to worry," she said shortly, hoping that would end the discussion. She didn't want to discuss this with Chris at all.

"Stephanie, I know that we haven't talked, but both Keag and Fer have told me that you're alone a lot, or that you look lonely, or that you're always with them, and I can't help, but worry about you. I'm sorry if you think I'm overstepping my bounds here--"

"You are Chris, it's none of your business!"

"It IS my business!"

"Why the hell would you even think that, I have my own goddamn life here, of which, you are no part!" she yelled, not knowing where this was even coming from, but the words did not stop at her lips, much to her chagrin, because she didn't want to alienate Chris, for the girl's sake, she didn't want to jeopardize anything. They were so happy to be able to talk to Chris, to talk to someone regularly who WANTED to talk to them. Hunter always sounded bored on the phone, like he would rather be anywhere, but talking to his little girls, and they didn't need that. They needed someone who wanted to hear about the picture they drew today, or how far they were able to kick a kickball, and Chris did that for them.

"Yes, I am a part of your life, whether you like it or not," Chris said, his voice calming down.

"How do you figure that?" she snapped.

"Stephanie, your daughters call me everyday," he pointed out.

"So?"

"So I think that at least makes me marginally involved in your life. They call me everyday Stephanie--"

"Look, if you don't want them to call you, you just have to say so. I'm sorry they're invading your life!" she said angrily. Ferris stood in the doorway, looking frightfully at her mother. If she messed this up, Ferris knew that she could lose Chris, and if Chris didn't want to be friends with her, and her father didn't want her either, where did that leave her and Keagan?

"Stephanie, I love talking to them," Chris said sincerely. "They're probably the only people I know besides my parents who actually care about me."

Stephanie was certainly humbled by that statement. She had a suspicion that he was only answering the phone because he felt bad, or he was trying to be sympathetic to her situation. But she never considered that Chris got something out of talking to them too. She didn't figure he had anything that she or her children could give him, when he could practically have everything he wanted already.

"That can't be true."

"Try living my life Stephanie. Then you can tell me how many people actually care about me. You'll find it's a very slim number."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"It's fine, you wouldn't have known, you haven't even talked to me in months."

She felt bad about that. She could hear the hurt in his voice when he said that, and it pricked her heart. "Chris, I just...I'm not lonely. I have my girls. And I'm still getting over my divorce. Once I get over that, then I'll be back to my normal, bitchy self."

"Once can only hope," he joked. "I hope we can talk more Steph."

"We'll see, I better go. Keagan is going to be home soon, and then I have to make dinner. She might call you and tell you all about her outing with my dad."

"It's cool, I have the night off and I was planning on just relaxing for once."

"Ok, bye," she said.

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and set it down on the counter. She sighed and went back to sitting on the stool. She didn't know why she kept pushing him away. He cared about her, and he cared about her daughters, even when he didn't have any obligation to them. And yet, she had pushed him away, and made him stay there, not letting him com any closer. And why? Because she was scared? Because she didn't think she was deserving of anyone when she couldn't even keep her husband happy? Because she didn't want to have to go through anymore heartbreak?

"Mommy, are you ok?" Ferris asked timidly, walking into the kitchen a little bit, staring at Stephanie.

Stephanie held her arms open and Ferris ran over to her and let Stephanie lift her onto her lap. "I'm fine Fer."

"But you were mad at Chris."

"I was, but I'm not anymore. He's a good guy huh?"

"Yeah, I like him...he talks to me."

"Who wouldn't want to talk to you?" she said, kissing Ferris's cheek.

"Daddy," Ferris answered simply. "You don't have to say that Daddy loves me and he misses me Mommy. I know that you aren't telling the truth."

"Fer, Daddy does love you, and I'm sure he misses you."

"He doesn't like talking to us Mommy. Whenever he calls, he always says he has to go out, and then he leaves, and it makes me sad. I don't like talking to him anymore Mommy."

"If you don't want to talk to him, you don't have to. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want to talk to Daddy, that's your decision. Do you want to tell Daddy your decision, in case he calls?"

"No, I don't want to call Daddy."

Stephanie felt for Ferris. There was a certain curse with being too smart. Yes, she could have conversations, and she could understand things far beyond her age, but there was also that knowledge that hindered her. She knew why Hunter didn't call, and she understood that he didn't want to be around her. Keagan didn't know that, she just thought Daddy was going to suddenly come back, but Ferris knew better. For all of Stephanie's encouraging words, and for all the excuses she made for Hunter, she knew that Ferris didn't buy a single one. Her intelligence was her curse in this situation, it did nothing but bring her hurt.

"Ok sweets, you don't have to call Daddy again if you don't want to."

"Thank you Mommy. I don't think I should talk to Daddy if Daddy doesn't want to talk to me."

"That's a very adult way of looking at it."

"Is it?"

"Yes, and I think you're old enough to at least be able to decide who you do and don't want to talk to," Stephanie said, knowing that Ferris liked it when she got to act like an adult.

Ferris smiled. "Chris said that he would bring me on the stage at his concert and let me sing if I wanted to."

"He did?" she asked incredulously.

"Uh huh. But I told him that I'd be too scared, he said that he sings in front of lots of people, and that's scary Mommy."

"I know, I've had to go out and wrestle in front of thousands and thousands of people, and I was so scared."

"We should go see Chris sing."

"I don't know if you'd like it Fer."

"Oh, but we should go see Chris, he's fun."

"Yeah, he is fun."

"I'm going to go play," Ferris said, jumping off of Stephanie's lap and walking out of the room.

Stephanie sat there, contemplating what Ferris had just said. She wanted to talk to Chris more than she wanted to talk to her father. What a sad state of affairs that was when she didn't even want to talk to her father anymore. Hunter was damaging his relationship with these girls every second of everyday, and they had found someone to replace him. She wasn't sure how he would take that, but it was a fact that he was going to have to accept.

He had lost his daughters to Chris Jericho. And she was starting to lose herself in Chris Jericho too. He was a good guy, and he always cheered up Keagan and Ferris, and he worried about her. How could she just overlook such good qualities in him? She was scared, yes, but why was she going to let Hunter's actions take over for her life? She didn't want to be a slave to Hunter's infidelity anymore.

She shouldn't have to take that, and she shouldn't have to live with some sort of shame hanging over her head. It was Hunter who had decided to stray, not her, and it was him who had left, not her. She had worked hard at her marriage, and she hadn't failed, Hunter had failed her.

Maybe she was ready to move on...maybe she was ready to move onto someone like Chris.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, I'm thinking...about maybe, I don't know, getting back into...well, dating."

Stephanie looked expectantly at her mother for assurance and she got a smile in return. Linda reached out to pat Stephanie's hand. "I think that's wonderful for you honey, and you should move on, let Hunter see what he gave up."

Stephanie laughed. "I wouldn't go so far as to do that, but I do think that it's time. Or at least...it's time for something I shouldn't have run away from before."

"What are you trying to say here?" Linda inquired. She could sense that Stephanie was trying to go somewhere with this conversation, and was probably looking for approval, or at least some encouragement of whatever she was planning.

"Well, I mean, I don't want to start just...dating anyone out there who I meet and happen to find attractive."

"I know I've been out of the loop for a long time, but isn't that pretty much what dating is about?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I had in mind. I've been thinking...um," she didn't know how to put this and not sound stupid, but she moved forward, "That I should...um, go back to Chris. Or not go back, as in, see what happens with Chris."

"Jericho?"

"No Mom, Chris Benoit, of course Chris Jericho."

"But honey, you haven't even talked to him since you ran off on him."

"Well, that's not exactly true..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Chris talks to the girls everyday."

"He what?" Linda had no idea that this even went on. In fact, only the girls and her knew about it. Not that she was trying to hide it, but the girls didn't talk about it. She had a feeling that Ferris had told Keagan to shut up about it, since she knew if it got back to Hunter, he would not like it at all. Ferris was on the up and up about these things.

"Well, the girls like to call him and tell him about their day and everything," she explained.

"But what about Hunter? I mean, he's their father, and they talk to him right?"

"Ferris doesn't want to anymore," Stephanie said to her. "She decided on her own, that she didn't want to talk to Hunter anymore. She feels like he doesn't want to talk to her, and so she doesn't want to talk to him."

"Oh Stephanie," Linda said sympathetically. "That must be so hard on her to come to blows with."

"Actually, you'd be surprised Mom, she LOVES talking to Chris, she smiles and laughs, and she's more upbeat about it, and she just loves to tell him about what she's doing that day. It's like Chris is getting her out of her shell. It's amazing."

"So she'd rather talk to Chris than Hunter."

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Stephanie said. "She said that Chris wants to talk to her, and she thinks that Hunter doesn't want to talk to her. And she's fine with that. Or as fine as she can be coming to the realization that her father doesn't really want her."

"Well then thank God for Chris," Linda said, her eyes wide. She had no idea that this was even happening. But if the girls were happy talking to Chris and unhappy talking to Hunter, she wanted what was best for them. They were her grandkids, and seeing them sad had hurt her almost as much as it hurt Stephanie.

"I know, he makes them feel special...and he likes me Mom, he's liked me for such a long time, and I've never known it because of Hunter, but I think...I think that I'm ready. He might not want me, but I have to take that chance, don't you think?"

"I think that you should," Linda said, supporting what Stephanie was saying. She wanted Stephanie to be happy again. Ever since this divorce, she had had to sit back and watch as her daughter went through so much pain, and if Chris could alleviate that, why shouldn't she be supportive?

"Good, because I know that Chris is going to be in Boston in two weeks, and well, I was thinking about going to the concert and trying to get backstage and surprise him. I know that it's probably going to be stupid, but I have to take this chance," she chuckled, "Mom, I can't believe I'm in my thirties and I'm going after this guy like I'm fifteen. I'm so stupid."

"No you're not, it's about time that you took charge of your life. And if Chris and you are happy together, I say that you go down to California and you flaunt it in front of Hunter."

"Oh my God, that would be so much fun. And Chris is better looking than Hunter isn't he?"

"Well, from an old woman's opinion, yes, I think that Chris is rather good-looking."

"Ok, I'm going to do it then," Stephanie said with an unwavering resolve that only McMahon's could pull off. "I'm going to go to Boston and I'm going to talk to Chris, and I'm going to be spontaneous. Oh God, Mom, I don't know how to be spontaneous!"

And that was true. Stephanie spent the next two weeks, planning exactly what she was going to say and going to do in front of Chris. She practiced in front of her mirror, and she practiced in front of her mother, and she practiced everywhere she could think of, trying to get it straight. She also made sure that she looked perfect. She had seen pictures of the women that Chris had dated, and they were all much younger than she was, and without children. Stephanie was in thirties, and she had had two children, so her body was not like the supermodels she had seen on Chris's arms throughout the past. If she wanted to make a good impression, she was going to have to look hotter than hot. If she had to, she was going to appeal to his most base emotion, lust.

But when the night actually came for her to go, she was nervous as all get out. She dressed simply, but sexy as well, all black, and in an outfit she knew that Chris would appreciate as a man (cleavage, cleavage, and more cleavage). She waited for her mother to come over and baby-sit the girls, and then she was off for the three hour drive to Boston. She practiced her speech the entire way there, wondering if Chris was really going to be surprised to see her. Well, of course he was going to be surprised, she wasn't telling him she was coming, and she knew he wasn't expecting her.

The one thing she didn't figure on was the security guard waiting outside the building. She had been so wrapped up in saying stuff to Chris, in her appearance, in not falling flat on her face, that she didn't account for the very tall, very svelte man blocking the door. But Stephanie worked with wrestlers, and went undaunted up to the man, pushing her way past groupies and stepping up to face him.

"Hello," she said kindly.

"Unless you gotta pass, I ain't letting you back there," he said shortly, keeping his eyes on his task.

"You don't understand, I know Chris," Stephanie said, knowing this guy probably heard that line a million times a show. Way to go, she told herself, she wasn't doing any better at not sounding like a groupie.

"Yeah right lady, so do all these girls here," he said with a chortle.

"Ok, fine, what do I have to do to let you to let me in there, a thousand dollars, does that sound fair," Stephanie said diplomatically. "You don't understand...Chris knows me, and Chris would want to see me, and the next time I talk to him, I'll tell him about the very irritating man who wouldn't let me see him."

"I'm not buying this shit, and I'm not taking your bribe. I've been working for Chris for lots of years, and I ain't never seen you before."

"Yes, and I've known Chris since I was twenty-two years old. Can you count that high?" she said condescendingly, probably not the best approach, but along with the McMahon resolve, also came the McMahon temper, and that was the more volatile of the two.

"Look, I can't let you in without a pass and that's final."

"Do you happen to know Chris's former occupation?" Stephanie asked.

"He was a wrestler."

"Do you watch wrestling?"

"Can't say that I do."

Damn it, Stephanie cursed mentally. She could've used that as an easy in, but she decided to try anyway, despite him saying he didn't know about wrestling. "Ever heard of Stephanie McMahon."

"No, should I have?"

"Listen here. If you don't let me in there right now, I'm going to call Chris right now, concert or no concert, and he's going to come back here and I'm going to tell him to fire you. What's your name for future reference?"

"Frank," he said, not honestly thinking that she knew Chris.

"Ok Frank, I'll have your ass out on the street so fast that you will not know what hit you. Now you can either let me in or you can suffer this fate worse than death because you do not mess with a McMahon, especially one who stands to inherit a billion-dollar company!"

"You're getting on my nerves, just get inside already," He relented, this woman's voice driving him up the wall.

Stephanie patted him on the chest. "Good boy."

Stephanie walked inside, looking around, not even knowing where to begin her search. She could still hear the muffled sounds of Chris and his band playing onstage, so she had time to find his dressing room and camp out. She had been backstage here before with wrestling, so she wasn't totally lost, but it was a much different place when there was a concert going on. She didn't recognize anyone for one, and she wasn't the boss for another thing. She walked timidly around, dodging people, trying not to make a spectacle. She finally mustered up the courage to ask where Chris's dressing room was and she was pointed in the right direction, thankfully.

She found it and knowing he was still out there, she walked inside. She wasn't expecting to find herself not alone as a strikingly beautiful woman was sitting on one of the couches, looking especially bored. Stephanie didn't know what to do and just cleared her throat, causing the other woman to look up in surprise. Stephanie recognized her from somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The woman was skinny as a rake, piercing green eyes, and light brown hair that was so shiny, Stephanie could probably use it as a mirror. She looked to be Spanish too.

"Um, is Chris around?" she asked stupidly, mentally slapping herself for that one.

"I'm sorry, he is still in the concert, you are?" the woman asked, her accent thick, making it a little difficult for Stephanie to decipher her question.

"Um...I'm Stephanie, and you are?"

"Paloma, I am waiting for Chris, is that what you do to?" As soon as she said her name, Stephanie remembered where she had seen her. She was the famous supermodel, and she was Chris's ex-girlfriend. They had gone out for a while if memory served her correct, and God, she was about fifty times prettier than Stephanie was, making Stephanie feel very self-conscious.

"No-no, I'm...well, I was looking for him...but I mean, why are you waiting for him?"

"I have big news for Chris, about me, and I have to tell him," she explained.

"Oh, big news."

"Yes, Chris is best man I ever met, and I want to tell him to his face, because I love him so much," she said excitedly. "But you know Chris, no?"

"I do know Chris, um, too well, but I can't...stay...I thought he'd be, well, done with his concert," she stumbled, coming to the conclusion that this woman was in love with Chris and wanted him back. And how could she compete with someone this beautiful, when she was nowhere near this range of gorgeous. She looked like a horse compared to Paloma.

"You stay too! We can both talk to him, if it's important, we both talk and wait."

"No, that's ok, I have to go anyway, nice meeting you," Stephanie said, quickly, looking for a quick escape.

"Do you want me to tell Chris that you came?"

"No, that's fine," Stephanie said, rushing out of the room and leaving a confused woman in her wake.

Chris finished up with his second encore and was handed a water bottle as he walked backstage. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and threw it to some assistant or towel boy, or someone who would take care of it. He gargled a little to preserve his voice and then went to his dressing room. He was both surprised and happy to see Paloma sitting there, waiting for him with open arms.

"Chris!"

Chris's jaw dropped in surprise, but it was a good surprise, "Paloma! What are you doing here?"

"I was in New York on a fashion shoot, and someone told me that you were here, and so I come here to see you," she told him. "I can't stay away from you Chris."

Chris went over and hugged her. "It's been too long. Have you been getting yourself into trouble over in Europe?"

"Oh you know how I am Chris, I never get into trouble."

He laughed, "So how's the fashion world?"

"Good, but I have news, and I wanted to tell you to your face instead of you finding out from a magazine or something."

"What news?"

"I'm getting married," she told him excitedly, holding up her left hand where a beautiful ring was residing. Despite being his ex-girlfriend, he and Paloma had stayed very good friends, trying to keep up their friendship through busy schedules was difficult, but they managed.

"Holy shit," Chris said in shock, "When did this happen?"

"Just last week," she answered. "You know of Jean-Pierre, and he asked me to marry him, and so I said yes, and we are being married sometime next year, but I had to tell you face to face if I could. Are you happy for me?"

"Am I happy? Of course I'm happy. If it wasn't me marrying you, then I guess this guy is the next best thing."

"Oh you are silly. I never marry you Chris, you are much too busy for a girl like me," she teased. "So who is this girl you are dating now?"

"I'm not dating anyone right now," Chris said. "Not with the tour and everything."

"The girl...from the song, her name was?"

"Are you talking about Stephanie?" Chris said. Paloma nodded. "I talk to her daughters, but I don't really talk to her. We went on a date and it didn't work out. So I'm not seeing anyone right now, you know how hard it is to date someone while I'm on tour. It's what broke us up remember?"

"Of course, you broke my poor, tiny heart," she said, straightening out his collar out of habit. "But the girl, from the song, this Stephanie, she was here, I met her."

"What do you mean she was here?" Chris asked, his brows knitted in thought. "She lives in Connecticut."

"Well, she was here when I was waiting for you. She asked who I was, and I said who I was, and she just left. She told me not to leave a message, but I figured if it was important enough for her to actually come here that you would want to know. I remembered her name, when you told me the girl from the song. She is one in the same, no?"

"That is the girl, you were right. She's the girl from the song," Chris said slowly. Why would Stephanie be here? Why would she drop by so unexpectedly? Unless it had something to do with the girls. Maybe something had happened to one of the girls and he didn't know how to reach him on the road.

"Chris, she is in trouble?" Paloma asked.

"I don't know, I have to go though, and see, did she say where she was staying or anything?" Chris asked, grabbing Paloma by the shoulders and looking at her, wild-eyed.

"She say she goes home, and that was it."

"Thank you so much," Chris said, kissing her cheek. "Congratulations again, and I'm sorry I can't stay."

"If you are going to get the girl, I cannot object. I will tell Rich and the others that you cannot stay," she smiled. "I cannot believe I met the girl from the song."

Chris smirked and shook his head. "You've been waiting to meet her?"

"Yes, I have, I had a feeling that she would be pretty, and she was. I should say you have good taste, but you dated me and we know what I look like."

Chris laughed and gave her one last hug before running into the hallway. There were screaming fans towards the exit and he got his bodyguard, Frank, out in front of him, pushing his way through the people. They made it to the limo, only a couple of people throwing themselves on it as Frank got in after him.

"Where we going Boss, so I can tell the driver?" Frank asked from the front seat.

"Greenwich, Connecticut, and hurry please, once we get there, I'll give you the address."

"Ok Boss."

"Hey Frank, you were manning the door earlier?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask? Did someone get past me?"

"Well, there was a woman, brunette, tall, gray-blue eyes. Completely striking to the eye, and probably very stubborn."

"Yeah, I remember her, but I forget her name," Frank chuckled. "She was one persistent woman, insisted that I let her in. She even told me she'd slip me a thousand bucks to let her in. She sounded desperate so I just let her in. Why? She cause you trouble?"

"She's been causing me trouble for years," Chris answered.

"She a stalker or something Boss?"

"No, she worked with me in the wrestling business."

"Yeah, she mentioned that, I didn't believe her...wait a minute, was she the girl from the song?"

"How does every freaking person know about the person from the song?" Chris mumbled, though it was loud enough for Frank to hear.

"Word gets around Boss."

Chris shook his head and sat back in his seat, wishing that the limo could go faster. He should've just gotten a regular car and driven himself there, it would've been faster. He couldn't control his speed now, and he hated not being in control. He hoped that everything was all right with Keagan and Ferris, he didn't want to think that something terrible had happened. If it wasn't that though, he had to wonder why Stephanie would drive almost 3 hours to see him, and to try and bribe his bodyguard to see him. And if it wasn't that he was questioning, he had to question why she left.

The ride seemed an eternity, but finally they were pulling into Greenwich, where Chris directed them to Stephanie's house. It was dark, but it was late and that could be expected. But if something was wrong, he'd ring the doorbell all night if he had to. He dismissed his driver and Frank saying that he would just call a cab later if he needed to, and they obediently left him on the doorstep. Chris rang the doorbell a couple of times, enough to get the attention of the house, but hopefully not enough to wake up the girls. He stood there, looking around the outside yard, not even noticing that Stephanie was peeking out the window.

She was shocked to see him there. His girlfriend must've spilled the beans on her. She didn't want to see Chris, not when he was just going to reject her and tell her that while the sentiment was nice, he had just gotten back with his ex-girlfriend, the supermodel, and he couldn't be bothered with her ill-timed attempts at romancing him.

"Who is it?" she called out softly.Chris turned abruptly on his heel, and answered, "It's Chris...Jericho."

Stephanie opened the door a little bit, "Chris, what are you doing here?"

"You came to see me tonight, and Paloma said you left, and I wanted to see why you came. Can I come inside?"

She hesitated for the slightest of moments before opening the door and letting him inside. Chris stepped into the foyer, and stood awkwardly as she closed the door. She walked ahead of him and motioned for him to follow. They walked past pictures and drawings from the girl until they reached the family room. Stephanie sat down on the couch and he sat down too, suddenly becoming conscious that he was still in his concert clothes, which consisted of a lot of vinyl. She was dressing in blue plaid pajama pants and a tank top, a far cry from the sexy outfit she had so erroneously worn for him earlier that night.

"Are the girls ok? I was scared that something had happened and you came to tell me," Chris asked, worried as he looked around for any sign of them, even though it was well past midnight.

"They're fine," she said, "Upstairs sleeping like little angels."

"Good, I was worried...so why did you come to visit me?"

"It's stupid," she said, shaking her head, hoping that would sufficiently answer his question, but it was such a vague answer, she knew it wouldn't satisfy any of his inquisitions.

"It can't be that stupid if you drove all the way to Boston to ask me, or whatever you were doing. You couldn't have left long before I did, so you've only been home for a while. It must've been a lot of trouble driving there. So I'd like to know why you did it. If that's ok with you?"

"It was nothing, I didn't want to stick around because it was obvious that your ex-girlfriend was there, and wanted you back, and so I wanted to leave you two alone."

"Paloma? Want me back?"

"She told me she had something important to tell you, and I didn't want to encroach upon your time together, if you were getting back together and--"

"She came to tell me she was getting married...to someone else."

"Oh." Well this changed everything. She thought that this beautiful woman who had dated Chris for more than two years, and who, according to all the gossip magazines, were still on very good terms, would want to get back together with him. But now she knew the truth, that it really was just a friendship and she still had a chance with him. Unless there was another girl. "Any other girls in your life?"

"Um...yours, and that's about it," he laughed. "I'm on tour, not much time for anyone but the music."

"Oh, well, I bet its fun though."

"It's kind of like wrestling, except I don't fight anyone."

"Well, then I'm sure you're used to it."

"You still haven't told me why you came tonight."

She looked down and then up at him, "You'll think I'm dumb."

"I would never think that."

"I've been thinking lately."

"Thinking's good," he told her with a kind smile. Just seeing her like this made his stomach do flip-flops and he hated it. He also hated that everyone knew she was the girl from the song. He had exposed his heart, and everyone knew it. It was slightly humiliating to have everyone anxious to know who the "girl from the song" was. But she still gave him that stomach flip-flopping feeling and he tried to bury it, because she had told him point blank that she didn't want him, and he had to accept that.

"About things, and well...about you," she revealed.

"Oh...is this about me talking with Keag and Ferris?" he asked. "If you don't want me to, I can stop..." He really didn't want to stop, but they were Stephanie's children and not his, and he would have to respect her wishes should she tell him to stop calling. He hoped she didn't though, because he loved those girls.

"Well, partly. You don't know how much it means to me that you want to talk to them regularly. Hunter, well, he never called regularly, and sometimes he didn't answer his phone when they called, which I think was deliberate on his part, but that's my own theory. Ferris told me a couple of weeks ago that she didn't want to talk to her father anymore, and that she would much rather just talk to you, which I told her was her decision and she made it. She's different, she's better now and it's because of you, and I have to thank you for that. For bringing them something they needed, for listening to them when they talk because they were starting to feel like nobody was listening to them."

"It's been my pleasure, really."

"And it got me thinking, about you, and about them, and how much you're a part of their lives, and it made me realize something," she said, taking a deep breath. It was now or never, and if she didn't get this out now, then she would be too embarrassed to later.

"Ok..." He said, silently urging her to continue, as his heart pounded in his chest.

"I want you a part of my life too," she said, wincing at how lame that sounded. She dared to look at him, and his face was emotionless. She cringed and looked away, knowing that she was being stupid. He could have any girl he wanted; he had women falling at his feet everyday, and the best she could come up with was that stupid, cheesy line about wanting him to be a part of her life.

"Um..." He was processing her information, because it could've been taken in many different ways. Was she saying she wanted to be friends, or could he dare hope that she wanted to be more. "What do you mean? Like you want to date me?"

"Yes," she said, her voice squeaking from the nervousness creeping through her vocal chords. She didn't dare look at him, her face burning with embarrassment and shame. Chris was just sitting there, still processing, but now that processing was doing an infinitely more positive spin. She wanted to date him, the girl from the song, the one he had wanted forever it seemed, she wanted him back. She continued speaking, despite herself. "I mean, I know that you kissed me and I ran away and I haven't really talked to you and everything, but I mean, you worried about me, and you talk to my daughters, and you are there for them, and it got me thinking that I was being stupid because I could have that too, and I want that Chris. I want to be able to get over Hunter and the insecurities his infidelity planted in my brain, but I don't want to do it was some unfamiliar man who my kids will inevitably hate and then hate me, I'd rather see what I can do with you because you're...well you're Chris, and you are such a wonderful person, and please say something before I talk you to death."

"You want to date me," he said, his voice becoming more sure of itself. "You're serious? That's really what you came to Boston to tell me?"

"Uh huh, stupid huh?"

"Are you kidding me! That's...this is....there are no words," he exclaimed. "Oh my God, I can't believe this, I'm...I can't believe this!"

"I'm sorry?" she said, slightly confused as to his reaction. Was this good, bad, ugly, what?

"No, don't be sorry," he said, scooting closer to her. "You've just...you've made my entire year."

Stephanie smiled. "But your record is number one on the charts."

"Who cares? You want to date me!" he said. "That's better than a measly album on the charts. So can I kiss you now?"

She nodded. "You can kiss me now."

And he did just that.


	10. Chapter 10

Stephanie sat in the kitchen, sipping coffee and smiling to herself. Chris was upstairs in the guest bedroom, where he asked to stay last night. He had had his overnight bag with him in his limo, so he wasn't unprepared. They had spent a lot of the night talking with each other and just getting reacquainted with each other. There were kisses, and hugs, but there wasn't any sex if that was what some people were thinking. She wanted to take this slowly, and having sex before their second date was not the way to go.

She had a few minutes before she the girls usually woke up. It was a bright Saturday morning, and they liked to watch their fair share of cartoons in the AM hours. She was still tired from last night, but she was too excited to sleep anymore. Chris had the day off before his concert in New York tonight, so he said he would spend the day with them before he went to the concert.

He was still on tour for another month, before he would have a long break, and she said that she could wait until his tour was over. It wasn't like she didn't have a ton of things to keep her occupied, but it was still the thought that counted, in that he thought about her feelings on him being away for a long time before things could really develop. But the thing that mattered was there was going to be development.

"Mommy! Cartoons!" Keagan yelled, running into the kitchen, "Can we have cereal for breakfast!"

Stephanie smiled as Keagan, who was jumping up and down, her hair messed up from sleep and her pajamas rumpled. Ferris entered moments later, rubbing her eyes, her hair in braided pigtails and her pajamas equally rumpled. She yawned mightily as she came to stand next to her enthusiastic sister.

"Well, yes, you can, but I have a surprise for you," Stephanie said, her eyes lighting up in a way that made her daughters excited.

"What!" Keagan said, clapping her hands together.

"Well, there's someone besides us in the house this morning," she said knowingly and teasingly. Keagan's face scrunched up as she tried to think of who would be here so early in the morning.

"Is it Grandma?" Ferris asked, looking around.

"Nope, not Grandma, better than Grandma."

"Did we get a dog?" Keagan asked.

"No, but I think you'll like this better," Stephanie nodded. "If you want to see who it is, you can sneak into the guest room, or you can wait until they come downstairs."

"What if they're already downstairs?" a voice said from the doorway.

Ferris and Keagan turned their heads and were both shocked and thrilled that Chris was standing there. His hair looked almost as bad as Keagan's and he was wearing an old Jericho t-shirt and pajama pants. He gave the little girls a smile and they ran over to him in two seconds flat, throwing themselves into his arms as he knelt down to receive their hugs.

"Chris, you're here!" Keagan screamed.

"Yeah, I'm here for a visit," he said to them as he hugged them back. "So Fer, are you going to come sing with me tonight?"

She giggled, "No Chris, I can't sing! Thank you for coming!"

"Hey, your mom was the one who wanted me to come over, I think you should thank her too."

"Thank you Mommy! Thank you Mommy!" Keagan said excitedly racing over to Stephanie and letting Stephanie scoop her up in her arms and carry her as Stephanie went to stand near Chris.

"You're welcome, but it didn't take much persuading."

"How long are you staying Chris?" Ferris asked, looking up at him as he stood up, but still keeping close to him, not believing he had come to visit, without her even having to ask him to, like she had her father, time and time again with no results.

"Well, I can only stay for the day, but after my tour is over, then I'll be over here a lot more."

"Really?" Ferris said, "Do you mean it? You'll be around?"

"Definitely," Chris said. "You wouldn't be able to keep me away if you tried."

"So can we go someplace fun Mommy, since Chris is here?" Ferris asked.

"Yeah Mommy! I wanna have fun!" Keagan said to Stephanie.

"Yes, we can have lots of fun. Now do you want breakfast?" she asked.

"And cartoons! Watch cartoons with us Chris?" Keagan asked.

"I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning," Chris said, taking Keagan from Stephanie's arms and holding her with one arm while Ferris grabbed his free hand to lead him into the family room where the television was. "Steph, you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks for asking though," she said, wanting to kiss him, but not knowing how the girls would take that.

Chris went into the living room, following Ferris. She jumped onto the couch and he put Keagan down on it before he sat down. Keagan immediately climbed into his lap where she took the remote and turned on the television, finding the cartoons. Ferris sat next to him and watched the television. They had been watching for a few minutes and laughing when Ferris turned to him.

"Chris?"

"Yeah Fer?"

"Why are you going to be around more?" she asked innocently, remembering what was said just a short while ago, and not understanding it.

"Well, for you guys of course."

"And for Mommy?"

"Yes, and for your Mommy too."

"Do you love Mommy?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I like your Mommy very much, and I want to spend lots of time with her, and if I do, then maybe I will love your Mommy."

"She's very nice, and she's pretty, and she lets us have cookies before dinner sometimes. I think that's enough to love her, don't you?"

"Well, I do love cookies a lot, especially before dinner."

She laughed. "Mommy likes you too?"

"I think so," Chris said with a sweet smile. "But everyone likes me."

Ferris giggled, "Do you love us Chris?"

"Who doesn't love you guys, of course I love you guys," Chris told her. It was the truth, he did love them, but he also knew that Ferris needed to hear that. Stephanie had told him about how she thought that Hunter didn't love them, and she needed someone to tell her that because she had become so disillusioned by Hunter. "Anyone who doesn't love you guys must be stupid or something."

Ferris smiled, "I love you too Chris."

"Wow, I'm one lucky guy then," Chris winked at her.

"Me too!" Keagan said.

"Yes, I love you too," Chris told her as well. Keagan jumped off of his lap and ran for her toys on the floor. She was one very difficult girl to keep up with. She was constantly bouncing around. "I'm going to go see if your mom needs help with breakfast, are you guys going to be all right in here?"

"I'll watch her," Ferris said, knowing that Chris had been eyeing Keagan.

"Thanks," Chris said, getting up and making his way back to the kitchen where Stephanie was busy mixing something up in a bowl. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Stephanie turned around and grinned at him. He grinned back, not being able to stop himself. He still had to pinch himself to believe that Stephanie was here, and he was here, and they were here in this way. It was almost like...well, he didn't want to get ahead of himself. "Need any help?"

"No, I think I'm good," she said, biting her lip to keep her face from cracking with a smile. "So..."

"Yeah, so..." He fidgeted around for a moment, staring down at the ground, unsure of what to do next. This was still new, and it was still a little bit awkward, but he just had to process that after years of having a crush on her, he was actually getting the chance to be with her. Now don't get the wrong idea, he wasn't pining for her, it was just a feeling that lingered in the back of his mind that Stephanie was one of the most spectacular women he had ever met before.

Stephanie looked at him; he looked nervous and he couldn't even meet her eyes. It was one of the cutest things she'd ever seen, and she had two adorable daughters. It was like he was too embarrassed to even look at her. She leaned her head down and captured his lips with hers and slowly tilted his head up as they kissed. Chris put a hand on her lower back, pulling her a little closer, running his finger up and down her spine as their lips collided with each other. Neither one of them wanted to stop this, they both needed it. Stephanie, because she was finally starting to heal, and Chris, this was a dream for Chris, one he never thought had a chance to come through.

"You should come to the concert tonight," Chris whispered as he lavished her jaw with fluttery kisses.

"The girls though."

"They can come too. We can go up to New York, have a nice, fun day, go out to an early dinner, then go to my concert. You guys can hang out in the back, or you can hang out on the side stage and watch. And since you've seen my dressing room already, you know that I have couches and stuff if the girls get tired."

"It won't be too loud for them?"

"I think the rooms are sound-proof because we have press people working back there and the noise gets distracting, so I can just request a sound-proof room if it's too much of a problem."

"Then that sounds like a plan," she said with a smile. "So where you going to take us?"

"I don't know, what is appropriate second date fare?"

"Hmm, it is our second date," she said with a smile and then kissed him quickly, savoring the taste of his lips. "But we have the girls with us."

"They're part of you, I don't mind at all."

"That's what makes you a special guy," she told him, pressing her palm to his cheek. "Many other guys would be running if I said that I wanted to spend the day with my kids, and asked him along."

"I'm too old to run away," he answered. "I like to remain rooted in one spot."

"Well, I like this spot just fine."

"Well good, because I wasn't planning on moving at all."

"Better not. The girls are thrilled that you're here though. I mean, thrilled. With Hunter..." she sighed. "With Hunter, they would ask him to visit and he wouldn't, and it just broke their hearts, and for you to show up now, I don't know...thank you."

"Thank me? You're the one that hauled ass to Boston to come after me. I'm just the one that followed you after you made the unfortunate mistake of assuming about things you shouldn't have assumed about."

"I don't know, she was beautiful, and she said she loved you, and I thought, 'How the hell am I supposed to compete with a supermodel?' There are certain things in life you know you can't do, and going up against her in a beauty contest, no way."

"Paloma's different from your typical model, I guess you can say. She's friendlier, doesn't carry around an attitude, and that's why I liked her. She was pretty yes, very pretty...but you're beautiful, and there's a huge difference."

She blushed. "How do you figure that?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist, clasping his hands together around her lower back. "Well...pretty is on the outside, it's just what people can see of you. And she knows she's pretty on the outside, and everything, and that's fine. But you...you're beautiful, because you don't know that you are the prettiest woman I've ever known, and inside, well, it's just as good as the outside to me."

Now Stephanie was turning a bright shade of red. She never expected to hear him say that. Granted, she still didn't think that she was prettier than Paloma, or many of the girls Chris had dated, but the way he said that, with his voice so soft, and his words falling off his lips in the most delicious way, it melted her heart a little.

"Me? The prettiest...far from it."

"To me you are," he said, kissing her softly. "To me, you're a lot of things."

"Is bitch one of them?"

He laughed, "Yes, bitch is one of them. Though I hope to not encounter that aspect of your being too often."

"I think Hunter gets the brunt of that these days."

"Have you talked to him?" Chris asked, slightly concerned. Stephanie had talked extensively about him last night, and the way he still made her feel. It wasn't love by any means, she didn't love Hunter anymore, in fact, she hated him. Hated the way he made her daughters feel, and hated the way he had still controlled her up until she decided to go after Chris. But she hadn't said the last time she had spoken with him.

"About three weeks ago, before Ferris decided that she didn't want to talk to him anymore. He hasn't called since, but knowing Hunter as well as I do, I would expect him to call within the next ten minutes, just to ruin the wonderful day that I'm already having."

"If he calls, want me to answer, and give him the surprise of his life?" Chris said, teasing in his voice, but staring into his eyes, she knew that he was completely serious. She kissed him for trying to protect her without making it seem like he was protecting her.

"I can handle him if he does."

This was comfortable for the both of them. They had been friends when he worked with the company, despite the fact that Hunter hated Chris, and the fact that Chris was jealous of Hunter for having Stephanie. But this, they knew each other well, and yet they didn't. There were years they went without each other, and they were going to have fun learning about those years, but still being anchored by the familiarity of their lives in the business.

"I know you can...but well, Steph...I, you and I, I want this to work out, and I hope it's not too soon to say it...but I just want you to know that I really want this to work," he said, his voice wavering with nerves. He hadn't wanted to show so much of his heart so early, but he needed her to understand that this wasn't a fling for him. It wasn't some publicity thing, where he'd have someone on his arm for all the awards shows out there. He wanted to be with Stephanie, in every way, if that was in the stars for them.

Her eyes softened as she looked him up and down with her eyes, barely moving her head. Her lips turned up slightly, barely a hint of a smile on her face. "When I told my mom I wanted to start dating again...I told her that I only wanted to date you. So I concur on what you're saying."

"You concur?" he asked hopefully.

"Hell, you can even answer the phone if Hunter calls."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying this story so much. The reviews have been really great, and I really appreciate them. I hope you continue to enjoy it and to review it. :)

* * *

Luckily enough for Stephanie, Hunter didn't call that morning and ruin everything with his drabble. Instead, they all had a nice breakfast and got dressed for the day. They piled into Stephanie's car to go to New York, even though Chris had offered to get his limo to come pick them up and take them. Stephanie appreciated it, but she expressed that she would just rather drive there herself, and Chris was not one to argue with her.

They went to Central Park first, and went exploring through the numerous playgrounds. At the current moment, the girls were playing and Chris and Stephanie were sitting on a nearby bench. He had been so bold as to put his arm around her and she was leaning lightly on his side, one of her hands playing with the fingers of his other hand.

"I just want to let you know, there could be paparazzi following me right now," Chris said. "Just so you know and you aren't surprised to find yourself in the latest issue of People Magazine or something. I tried to take every precaution to make sure that we weren't bothered today, but those people are like leeches."

"It's ok," she answered. "As long as we're having fun."

"Obviously you've never had to deal with lots and lots of them," Chris responded. "They're terrible. They'll follow you everywhere and just try to hurt you sometimes, it's crazy. But I had Frank kind of throw them off the scent."

"That's sweet of you."

"I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable or that you're on display."

"I will be though, when everyone finds out."

"Yeah, you're going to be, and the girls might be too, to a lesser extent of course, but you're definitely going to be thrown into a different spotlight from what you're used to."

"Well, at least I have some minor experience right? I'm not going into this totally blind. I'll just have to get used to the many cameras."

"Yeah, that's it," Chris said, knowing that it wasn't it at all, but wanting to make her think that it was and not shatter the image. It was tough presenting yourself in front of a ton of people. "Doesn't matter either way, you're gorgeous and personable, and most of all, you're head-strong. The media is just going to eat you up."

Stephanie laughed and turned her head to look up at him. "You know, I think today is the first day that I haven't felt hunkered down by one thing or another. I seriously think it's the first time I've been just happy and content in a very long time."

"Good," Chris said proudly. He was proud because he was making Stephanie happy, and by all accounts, she hadn't been happy in a really long time. The thought made him sad, and angry at the same time. Mostly mad at Hunter though. How he could leave his daughters, and Stephanie, he would never figure that out. If these three girls were his family, he'd have to be torn away by force to ever leave them.

"Well of course you think it's good," Stephanie teased. "You're the one who's sitting next to me, with your arm around me, I'm hoping that you would want me to be happy."

"Well, what's the alternative?"

"Um...me hitting you," she said coyly, as if that was the most natural answer that she could come up with at the moment. Chris laughed and kissed her temple. "I really enjoy being with you."

"Likewise," she said, watching Keagan and Ferris. "And they are over the moon for you..."

"Well, they're pretty great too," Chris told her. "You know, I think about this a lot, but I never can come up with anything..."

"What do you think about?" she asked.

"How Hunter could give this up? I mean, I play it over and over in my brain, I've played out a million different scenarios, and I keep coming up empty. I just can't fathom that any man in his right mind would walk out on this," he said, gesturing around with the hand that wasn't around Stephanie. "I mean, I've tried to come up with some sort of solution, but I'm not finding one. Why would one man want to give this up? I've wanted this for a long time...and he had it and gave it away."

Stephanie looked to the sky for a moment, noticing a passing cloud in the shape of a horse. "I can't tell you that. But I think it's this...because trust me, I've probably run across every scenario that you have, I think that he wanted adventure. I think that he thought all his adventures were over, that everything was set before him for the rest of his life. And I think he got scared...not that I'm defending what he's done, because it's not right, but I think that's what happened, and I think he thought he needed to find a new adventure. Apparently it was between the legs of his physical therapist."

"I can't imagine a life with you in it not being an adventure."

Stephanie didn't know where Chris had learned to be so smooth, or who he learned it from, but the man had skills. He had this knack for saying the right thing at exactly the right time. It was like an intuition of sorts, and she had to commend him for being so intuitive. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"You say the sweetest things."

"And I mean them."

Keagan came up running up to the two of them, Ferris not far behind. Keagan was grinning madly, but Ferris was just looking between her mother and Chris. She could see something there, even though she wasn't smart enough that she could read people, but she knew it was good. She could see the smile on her mother's face, and she knew that something good was happening. She was perceptive enough for that...and she liked that it was with Chris.

"Chris, will you push us on the swings?" Ferris asked politely.

"Yeah Chris! Push us please!" Keagan said, already grabbing his hand and trying to drag him off to the swing-set. Chris shrugged and Stephanie let him go, watching as he picked up Keagan and threw her over his shoulder, Keagan squealing in delight.

Stephanie sat back against the bench and watched her girls as they climbed onto the swings, Chris helping Keagan a little since she was still a little bit too small to climb up herself. He alternated pushing them, and Stephanie felt so very content in that moment, so very safe, and it was a different feeling, or a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. She was just about to get up and go over and help him when her cell phone rang. She need only see the display to know that Hunter had not failed her, and would indeed be ruining her day.

She contemplated not picking it up, but it might be something important. Chances were good it wouldn't be, but Hunter hardly ever called her, so it must be something of note. She really just wanted to ignore it and go over and be with Chris and the girls. But the better judgment lost out that day, and she pushed the button to answer.

"Stephanie McMahon here."

"It's Hunter."

"Why you don't say?" Stephanie said sarcastically. "I had all but forgotten your voice. My ex-husband you say."

"I'm not in the mood for your games today Stephanie."

"Oh really, well that breaks my poor, little heart. Here I was planning on playing with your emotions. Oh wait, that's just what you do to me. And the girls, and everyone else who doesn't get this mid-life crisis you've decided to have."

"Oh, I'm laughing Steph, I really am."

"Good to see you haven't lost that sense of humor of yours...so how's the whore? Good, I hope. I hope that you haven't popped any implants on her."

"She's fine," Hunter said sharply.

"Well now that the chit-chat's over, mind telling me why the hell you decided to call me after not talking to me for...I don't know how long because I'm too tired and probably can't count that high."

"I'm in Connecticut today visiting my parents, and I wanted to know if you were around so I could come see the girls."

"Oh, so now you want to see the girls?" Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. "How long has it been since you last saw them Hunter? Almost a year right?"

"Stephanie, I'm in the area, are you there or not so I can come over and see them?"

"You mean, you can actually fit them into your schedule...well gee, thanks, I'm glad that they're so important to you that you can make a quick stop-over while you're visiting your parents. Nice to know that they're only a side-trip."

"My parents wanted to meet Shayna."

"Oh that makes the story even better!" Stephanie exclaimed, slapping her knee with her hand. "Not only are they a side-trip, but they're a side-trip after you're showing off your new girlfriend to your parents. How far down the list are Keag and Fer anyways Hunter? Are the behind that pesky pipe you have to fix, or the plant you have to water?"

"Stephanie, I love my daughters."

Stephanie scoffed loudly. "I don't think you do Hunter..."

"How dare you say that!"

"How dare you actually lead me to believe that you actually care."

"You haven't even let them call me in the past month or something," Hunter told her.

"Hunter, get your head out of your ass...they haven't wanted to call you!" Stephanie said loudly, causing Chris to look over. He could see that Stephanie was irritated and on the phone, which led him to one painfully obvious conclusion. He pushed the girl's one last time before excusing himself to go see Stephanie. He walked over to her, hearing her engage in her conversation with Hunter (he had heard his name come up) and stood in front of her. But Stephanie was too far gone into the conversation to notice him there at the moment.

"What do you mean they haven't wanted to call me? I'm their father."

"Some father you've been," Stephanie said, tears welling in her eyes, hating that Hunter still had this affect on her. Hadn't she cried enough tears over this? But no, Hunter would keep twisting his finger into her wounds, cutting her deeper, making her feel more pain than necessary. It wasn't because she loved him, that time was over, but this conversation was just bringing to the surface all the past hurt that the girls had suffered because of their absentee father. "You barely call, you never come to visit them, and by that Hunter, I mean that you never come with the explicit intent to see them. Is it any wonder they ever wanted to talk to you."

"I don't believe a word you're saying. Let me see my daughters."

"It doesn't even matter Hunter...we're not in Connecticut. We're in New York today, and you can't see them."

Chris sat down next to Stephanie, seeing that she was really distraught. He threw a look to Keagan and Ferris and saw them happily playing together, unaware of the heated conversation between their parents. Chris didn't know what to do, what he really wanted to do was snatch the phone from Stephanie's hand and go off on Hunter, his hand was almost itching to do it, but he couldn't. He couldn't rush Stephanie into telling Hunter, or anything like that. It had to come at her own pace. And of course, it had to be at the right moment so they could shock Hunter out of the water.

"Great, that's just great," Hunter said slowly.

"I didn't plan this Hunter...so whatever you're thinking, just stop." 

Ferris walked over and heard her mother talking on the telephone. She tapped Chris's knee and he turned to her, just noticing she was there for the very first time. He hoped that she hadn't heard most of what was being said. It had to be the pits to hear your parents fighting with each other. He couldn't imagine how bad it would be to experience that.

"Chris?" she asked.

"Yeah Fer?"

"Is Mommy talking to Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"She gets real mad when she talks to him," she said. "That's how I know. She doesn't get that mad with anyone else."

"Hey, you want to go get some ice cream? I think I saw an ice cream man a little ways from here."

"Does Daddy want to talk to us?"

"I don't know," Chris said. "Do you want to talk to him?"

"No, I don't," Ferris said, looking down. "I don't want to talk to him. Can we go get ice cream now?"

"We can absolutely go get ice cream now," he answered, standing up and taking Ferris's hand. They went over to collect Keagan, and started for the ice cream man.

"My decision is final Hunter," Stephanie said. "I'm not coming home just so you can see them."

"Fine, let me talk to them then."

"They don't want to talk to you Hunter. Ferris has made the decision not to speak to you."

"Oh please, and how much was she influenced by you in that decision Stephanie," Hunter said condescendingly.

"She didn't need any help in making that decision," Stephanie responded. "Maybe if you had taken the time beforehand to get to know her, or talk to her, or do anything with her, you would've noticed that Ferris is a very smart, little girl. She knows things Hunter, she's not oblivious to the situation. She knows that you don't call, or even seem to care about her. She doesn't want to talk to you."

"I want to hear it from her," Hunter said. "I want her to tell me that she doesn't want to speak to me ever again."

Stephanie looked around, seeing Chris and the girls walking back, apparently from getting ice cream. Keagan was holding a double popsicle, while Ferris had a Drumstick ice cream cone, and Chris was holding two malts. She waited for them to come over, giving Chris a small smile as he sat next to her.

"Ferris, Daddy needs to talk to you," Stephanie said.

"I don't want to talk to him Mommy," she said firmly.

"Sweetie, I think that you need to tell him that," Stephanie said, hoping her daughter would understand. Ferris looked to be thinking for a second before holding her small hand out. Stephanie gave her a kiss to her cheek before handing the phone over, taking the ice cream cone from her hand so that Ferris could speak.

"Hi Daddy," Ferris said quietly, reverting back to her shy days when Hunter was gone and she was missing him.

"Ferris, hi," Hunter said enthusiastically. "I've missed you."

"You haven't called."

"I've just been so busy it's been hard to call you, and I'm sorry."

"I don't want to talk to you anymore Daddy."

"Fer, you don't mean that," Hunter said, still thinking that Stephanie was the one who was making this decision.

"Yes I do," Ferris said, her voice quiet, but still demanding the respect of her father. She was so Stephanie's daughter.

"Is Mommy making you say this? You can tell me if it's Mommy."

"No! It's not Mommy ok!" Ferris said, getting angry now, her temper flaring. Again, she was so Stephanie's daughter. "You don't ever call us! You don't care! So I don't want to talk to you, ever! EVER!"

Ferris shoved the phone back at her mother and started to run off. Stephanie sat in shock for a moment, not expecting such an outburst from her daughter. She wasn't even really aware that Ferris, her sweet, almost timid little girl could erupt with such anger. Chris was equally shocked, but he didn't know Ferris as well.

"I'll go get her," Chris said, setting the malts he was still holding down, and then jogging after Ferris. She was easy to catch up to, and Chris scooped her up, despite her protests. "Where were you planning on going by yourself?"

"Uncle Shane's, he lives in New York," Ferris said.

"Were you going to hail a cab?"

"I don't know," Ferris said, frowning as she crossed her arms.

"Do you want to go see your Uncle Shane?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't want to talk to Daddy, and I want to see Uncle Shane. He hates Daddy and Daddy would never call him."

Chris took Ferris over to a bench and sat down with her. "You know, it's ok to be really mad at your dad for leaving you. You don't have to storm off, because I think your mommy is just as mad with him."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh," he said. "I'm mad at him too."

"Sometimes I forget that you knew Daddy."

"Yeah, I did, for a long time," Chris said. "I'm sorry that he doesn't come to visit you."

"Does he not like us Chris?" Ferris asked, looking up at him with her questioning eyes. Chris could see the hurt in them, and it was such an innocent face, it shouldn't have to be showing these kind of emotions. Ferris was just a little girl; she shouldn't have to know this kind of hurt.

"I don't know the answer to that kiddo. But if I were him, you wouldn't be able to keep me away from seeing you all the time."

"Do you think he's mad at me?"

"No, he's not mad at you...but how about we go back to your Mom and Keag and then we can discuss how we're going to get to your Uncle Shane's house so you can visit him."

Chris stood up and held his hand out to her. Ferris hopped off the bench and happily took his hand. It was so nice to know that Chris wanted to spend time with her. Chris always had time to talk to her, and he was actually there. She couldn't remember when her father had come to visit her.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you marry Mommy so you can be my new daddy?" Chris laughed slightly, not even knowing where to begin with that question. So he took the easy way out.

"We'll have to talk to your mom about that one."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I don't really care for this chapter, but nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it. I think it's more of a set-up chapter than anything else. I think it ends awkwardly, but I didn't want to include some of the stuff I'm going to include in the next chapter in this one. Thanks for all the reviews. :)

* * *

While Chris was running after Ferris, Stephanie stared at the phone for a moment, wondering what she should do. She looked up at Keagan, whose face was covered in red popsicle juice. Stephanie looked in the direction where Chris and Ferris had run off to, and sighed. She brought the phone back up to her ear. 

"So you see Hunter," Stephanie said sadly. "Do you see now?"

"Stephanie, I don't know what the hell happened with her," Hunter started, but didn't get to finish as Stephanie cut him off.

"Of course you don't Hunter…but thanks for ruining an otherwise wonderful day," Stephanie told him. She hung up the phone after that, not having the strength to talk to Hunter anymore. That man could tear her heart out in a second if he wanted. "Come here Keag, so I can wipe your face."

Keagan obediently walked over to Stephanie and she grabbed a napkin that Chris had left on the bench and wiped Keagan's face, though it was still sticky. They would have to find a bathroom so Stephanie could get a damp towel, because right now Keagan was sporting a red mouth. She heard someone clear their throat and saw Chris and Ferris, the latter holding onto the former's hand.

"Hey you two," Stephanie said tentatively. "Everything great?"

"I'm great Mommy," Ferris said with a smile. "I told Chris that I wanted to visit Uncle Shane. Can we visit him?"

"Hmm..." Stephanie pretended to think about it for a minute. "Let me call him and see if he's home. I'm sure Liesel would love to see you guys?" Liesel was Shane and his wife's only child, a sweet girl of six.

Stephanie looked up to Chris to see if everything really was ok with Ferris. Chris gave her a slight nod, and she was relieved to see it. He mouthed to her that he would tell her about it later, and she nodded herself. She took her cell phone and got her brother's number, hoping they were there since it would probably make Ferris forget what had just happened.

"Hello?" Shane answered.

"Hey Shane, it's your sister."

"Baby girl, what's up?"

"Shane, I'm a grown woman now, I don't think that nickname applies."

"You're my baby sister, it will always apply. So to what do I owe the call from you?"

"Well, I'm in New York, and the girls want to see you."

"That's cool, we weren't doing anything today, but if you want the day to yourself, I'll be glad to take the girls so you can do whatever. Lis would love to see them. I think she's bored, she's been watching this video for hours."

"Thanks so much Shane…and um…I won't be spending the day alone," she said quickly, darting her eyes up to Chris to give him a lopsided grin. He didn't see it though since he was too busy talking with Ferris and Keagan over something.

"Oh, is Mom with you? Oh, it's some sort of spa thing right, you and her, mother/daughter spa thing," Shane said with an audible groan.

"No, it's nothing like that," Stephanie said. "I'm…out with someone."

"A guy?" Shane asked, his voice hitching at the end. Stephanie hadn't been out with a guy since her divorce. He had never even heard her talk about a guy before, and then suddenly there was a guy. His sister had a guy.

"Yes, a guy," she said, almost shyly.

"Like a boyfriend type guy?"

"Yes like a boyfriend type guy," Stephanie answered reluctantly. She just couldn't keep her big mouth shut, but then, looking over at Chris, she didn't want to keep her mouth shut. She didn't care who knew about her and Chris, she was happy and that was the only thing that mattered to her right now.

"Since when do you have a boyfriend?" Shane asked. He had been looking out for his baby sister forever, and after he had seen what Hunter had done to her, he wanted to make sure that any guy that went out with his little sister was worthy of her.

"Since a couple days or so…maybe longer if I think about it," Stephanie said. She and Chris hadn't been seeing each other romantically for very long, but she still felt like he was a part of her family. The girls already loved him, and he was fitting in so naturally in their lives. It was like he had always been there. Well, he had been there, before, but then there was a rather large break, but still, he was integrating himself rather well into their lives.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that he's here, and Keagan and Ferris wanted to see you and so we're coming over. You can grill my new boyfriend when we get there. I trust you'll find my decision-making skills satisfactory."

"I'm not so sure with you Steph."

"Trust me, you'll like him. We'll head over right now."

"How do you know I'll like him?"

"See you in a while Shane," she teased, hanging up the phone. She stood up and walked over to where Chris was standing with the girls. He handed her a malt and she took it, giving him a tiny kiss on the cheek. She wasn't thinking when she did that, and didn't know what the girl's reactions would be if they saw that she kissed Chris, albeit on the cheek. She looked down and saw they were too focused on their respective desserts to really care what she was doing. "Shane said it would be fine if we went over right now."

"Great," Chris said. "I think that'll make Ferris feel better."

Stephanie appreciated the lowered tone he had taken, "Yeah, she likes it over there. Keagan too."

"That's good that they have him here."

"He was their father figure for a while," Stephanie said, then turned to her daughters. "Ok, Uncle Shane said that he would love to see you, so why don't we head on over there right now."

That was met by an enthusiastic cheer from Keagan, causing the remaining popsicle left on her stick to fall to the ground. She looked down at it in horror, horrified that she had dropped what was left of her popsicle. She looked up to Chris and Stephanie and then back down at her fallen dessert.

"Well there goes my ice cream," Keagan muttered to herself, eliciting a laugh from Stephanie and Chris.

Stephanie picked her up, sticky hands and all. "Well that's what you get silly girl."

"Maybe Uncle Shane will have ice cream?" she said excitedly.

"No more ice cream for today," Stephanie said. "You're going to be up all night as it is."

"But then I can watch all the TV shows that I want," she reasoned, the idea of staying up late being mysterious and alluring.

"There's nothing on late at night that you would like," Stephanie said. "So you're going to go to bed at a reasonable hour."

Stephanie and Keagan walked ahead of Chris and Ferris to their car. Ferris hung back so that she could keep up with Chris. Even though her mother didn't think she had seen it, she had, in fact, seen her mother kiss Chris on the cheek. She wondered if that was a good sign. She didn't think the idea of kissing boys was a too appealing thought, but she knew that grown-ups tended to like that kind of stuff. So maybe that question she had asked Chris would come true after all.

"What are you and Mommy going to do when we're at Uncle Shane's?" Ferris asked, looking up at Chris.

"I'm not sure. I don't think we'll have any fun without you and Keagan there," Chris told her, ruffling her hair a little. The words made Ferris feel really important and she smiled a shy smile. Chris made it sound like he needed her around. She liked being needed now that she thought about it.

The ride to Shane's shouldn't have taken very long, but it is sometimes hard going in the streets of New York. Chris found it terribly endearing when Stephanie got angry and looked like she wanted to swear, but then bit her lip to keep from cursing in front of the girls. He did catch her swearing under her breath a couple of times.

They reached Shane's apartment building, a very posh one at that, and the doorman immediately recognized Stephanie and let them in, but not before asking for an autograph from Chris for his daughter. Chris obliged, and Keagan and Ferris, for the first time, realized that Chris might be really famous. They had known that people knew him, but today, a lot of people had asked for his autographs.

They rode up to the floor that Shane's penthouse was on. The elevator opened up right to his front door and Stephanie stepped forward to ring the doorbell. Chris hung back a little, not sure if Stephanie wanted Chris to be right in Shane's face when he opened the door. Ferris leaned her head against his arm and he put his hand on top of her head as she giggled.

Shane answered the door, a little girl on his heels, and he reached forward, immediately pulling Stephanie into a hug. She returned it eagerly, glad to see her brother. Shane didn't even look in Chris's direction while he was hugging his sister, too mentally focused on his sister and how she was doing. He had been around immediately after Hunter had left, and seen Stephanie at her lowest. He pulled away and put his arms on hers, looking her over.

"You look great," he told her.

"Thanks," Stephanie said, giving him a smile. "You look…the same."

"And how are the girls?" Shane asked, still eyeing Stephanie.

"They're great, actually."

"And how is this new--" Shane was going to ask how her new guy was, but had looked over Stephanie's shoulder at that exact moment and saw just who this new guy was, or at least who appeared to be her new guy. He didn't think that Chris would be here for his own reasons. He hadn't even seen Chris in years. "Chris Jericho?"

"Hey Shane," Chris said, giving a little wave to him.

Shane turned to Stephanie, "Chris Jericho?"

"Chris Jericho," Stephanie said, with a smile that very literally lit up her face. Shane was going to comment, or at least send her a look, but he saw the way she was smiling, and how happy she seemed, and the words were lost on his lips.

"Well, it's nice to see you again Chris," Shane said, but his voice was tentative. "Why don't you guys come inside for a while?"

"Well, Chris and I were going to go off on our own for a while," Stephanie said, glancing towards Chris. "But I'll come inside and just let you know a few things about the girls. Knowing you Shane, you have completely forgotten when they eat dinner or anything. And it's been a while since you've taken care of them."

"Fine, Chris do you want to come inside?" Shane asked.

Stephanie looked to her boyfriend, "Why don't you wait out here? I shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

"Ok," Chris said, pulling her closer to him so that he could whisper in her ear, "It's cool, I know you want to talk about me."

"I do not," she said with a soft laugh. "I won't talk about you too long."

"I'll be waiting," Chris told her.

Stephanie followed the girls and Shane into his penthouse. Stephanie closed the door behind her, sending one last look to Chris, who was leaning against the wall, looking quite sexy in the pose he was in. She gave a small, appreciative smile to herself before turning to Shane and seeing that he had his arms folded while he looked at her sternly.

"When the hell did you start dating Chris Jericho?" Shane asked, his voice not angry or harsh, but just filled with wondering.

"Recently," she said, not revealing the details.

"And what do the girls think of this?"

"They love him Shane, they adore him. And that's all you need to know," Stephanie said. "Now he's waiting for me outside, so I'll talk to you later. Just be happy for me Shane, that's all I'm asking here. I'm finally getting over Hunter, and I want to be with Chris. So just be happy for me."

"As long as he doesn't break your heart."

"Stop saying that. He won't. He's not Hunter."

"Better not be."

"Bye Shane, the girls eat at around six, they can have anything, no allergies or anything. We'll be back kind of late, I'm not sure when."

"Why don't I just take them for the night then," Shane said. "I'm sure I can scrounge up some pajamas for them. If I can't find anything, then I'll just go buy some or something. I'm sure Liesel would love to have them over."

"Ok, that sounds good…you're not just doing this so I can have some alone time with Chris are you?" Stephanie asked suspiciously.

"No way! I'm not advocating my sister's sex life, that's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. I don't care what you do, but please, don't think that I'm the one that's going to help you out with that."

"You're sick," Stephanie said with a giggle. She gave him a quick hug and then went to say goodbye to the girls, who were already in Liesel's room, playing. She walked back out into the hallway and saw Chris in the exact same position, waiting for her. He looked up when she opened the door and pushed himself off the wall.

"Everything cool with you and your brother?" Chris asked as he took Stephanie's hand.

"I think he'll get over the shock in a couple of hours," Stephanie said, kissing his cheek. "I think that he wants to give us some time alone actually."

"Yeah right, I don't think that he was liking me too much."

"He likes you, he just worries about me. With the entire Hunter thing. He's scared that I'll get hurt again. But I've learned that you at least have to take the chance."

They stepped onto the elevator and Stephanie pushed her back against the back wall. Chris hovered over her, his face inches above her own. His height was an advantage because they were almost eye-level, but he was just a tiny bit taller so he was able to look down at her. She saw his golden eyelashes against the light coming from the lights above their head. He gave her a lazy smile, his teeth bright.

"I will try my hardest never to hurt you. I can't promise that at some point I won't hurt you, but I can tell you this, I will never treat you like Hunter did. I will never cheat on you, ever. I know I've got a good thing going here."

"Well, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but you really do," she said coyly.

"Well, I don't think that you should be complaining either," he said to her.

"Oh, trust me, I'm not," she said, leaning up to kiss him. "I've been wanting to do that, but I wasn't sure if I should in front of the girls."

"Why not?"

"I just don't want them to…get their hopes up or something. I mean, it's weird enough to have to deal with your father never being around, and then there's this man hanging around, and he's new, and I just want to make this as easy as possible for them."

"Well, I'm sure that while I'm gone on tour that you can discuss it with them."

"That's a good idea," she said as the doors pinged open. "So what will we do with ourselves until your concert?"

"I'm about to show you the time of your life."


	13. Chapter 13

Chris pulled Stephanie out of the building and looked both ways, as if figuring what way he wanted to go first. As he turned right again, trying to see if there was anything in the vicinity that he wanted to see, Stephanie pulled his head towards hers and kissed him. He was taken by surprise from it, but it was a nice surprise. He had kissed Stephanie in the past, but those had always been for show, and there was something inherently different from when she kissed him on-screen and when she kissed him to mean it.

These kisses had meaning behind them. He knew that she was still tentative with him, like she would be for any man. She had been with Hunter for so long that it had to be different to be with Chris. He hoped it was a good different. He didn't want to think before he knew, but he did know that if it didn't work out with Stephanie, then maybe it wasn't meant to work out with any woman. He had held a flame for Stephanie for a while. Nothing spectacular, he wasn't pining for her, but in his gut, he knew that there had been something there, and it pained him for a while to think that nothing could ever come from that feeling.

"What was that for?" he asked as she pulled away to gaze in his eyes.

"Well, you said you'd show me the time of my life, why can't I also show YOU the time of your life?" she asked coyly, wiggling her eyebrows playfully at him.

"I like the way you think," he said, pulling her into another deep, long kiss. They were interrupted by Chris's cell phone ringing in his pocket. He didn't want to answer it, but knew that it could be an important call. He reluctantly broke away from Stephanie and gave her a disappointed look, hoping that she would realize he only ended that kiss because he had to and not because he wanted to.

"I understand," she said softly, putting a little distance between the two of them so that Chris could focus enough to answer the phone.

He looked down at the display and saw that it was Rich, which meant that it was most likely related to work. Knowing that he would have to answer this, he clicked the button and brought the phone up to his ear. "What is it Rich?"

"Chris, where the hell are you? Paloma told us that you had to go somewhere last night and now you're MIA. So what was so important you skipped the after-party last night?"

"None of your damn business Rich," Chris told him, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Paloma told us she was getting married, were you jealous?" Rich teased.

"Lo and I have been over for ages, and I'm not jealous of her," Chris said, very firmly as he reached his hand over to take Stephanie's hand. That sentence was intended more for her than for Rich. Chris just wanted to reaffirm to Stephanie that Paloma meant nothing to him. "I had some personal stuff to take care of."

"Oh great Chris, that's nice and vague. We're bandmates, you gotta give up the good stuff…did you hook up with someone?"

"Look, do you need me there or something?" Chris said, avoiding the subject. He was not "hooking up" with Stephanie, and never had any intention to just "hook up" with her.

"Yeah, we're doing a sound check here, and we kind of need the lead singer slash guitarist to be here so that we can check the mics on you," Rich told him. "So wherever the hell you are right now, can you get your ass down to the Garden so that we can do this?"

"Fine, fine, don't get your panties in a bunch man, I'll be down there as soon as I can," he said, hanging up rather abruptly and turning sorry eyes to Stephanie. "We're going to have to cut our day short."

"Concert stuff," she said, having heard his end of the conversation, she was able to deduce that he had to get to the venue.

"Yeah, sound check, a horrible, horrible thing, but it must be done. I'm really sorry, we were supposed to have the day together, and it's been derailed."

"Chris, it's fine, I know that you have work to do, and I respect that. I work too, you know, and I know how sometimes you have to put things on hold."

"But I'm leaving tomorrow for a month, and we haven't had a proper date since this happened," he said, gesturing between them.

"We had earlier, and that was fun," she told him. "And I don't think I'm going to change my mind in a month. Maybe miss you more, but I don't think that I'll change my mind."

"Please don't," he said, coming off more desperate than he had initially intended. She shook her head at him and leaned in for another kiss, silently telling him with her mouth that she wasn't about to change her mind. It had been a big step for her to go after Chris, and she wasn't going to let that be all for naught.

"Come on, I may have to settle for no date, but I am invited to the concert aren't I? I don't have to wait for the actual concert to be there, I can go watch you do your thing, and then later tonight when girls are inevitably throwing their underwear at you from their seats, I can think about how you only want my underwear to be flying at you."

Chris laughed. "Yeah, that's very true. Come on, if I don't get there fast, Rich is going to oust me from the band altogether."

"That would be tragic," Stephanie said sarcastically as she squeezed Chris's hand. Together they walked to her car and she drove them to the arena. Flashing his badge immediately gained Chris entrance into the parking lot where Stephanie parked close to the door. There were already some people out there, hoping to see their favorite singer and they were screaming as he alighted from the car.

Stephanie hung back a little as Chris went up to shake some hands and sign some autographs. She went relatively unnoticed by the fans, who were probably more enamored by the big rock star than the owner of a wrestling company. But she was happy to see Chris so in his element. This wasn't so different from the wrestling world, having people always around, wanting autographs and everything. Of course, tonight, Chris didn't have to put his body on the line or anything, but the thought was the same.

Chris finished up with most of the people and promised to sign more after the show as he went for Stephanie's hand. She let him take it in hers and lead her into the building. She had been to Madison Square Garden many, many times before, since she was little, so it was almost like she was leading him around.

Chris led her to the stage, where the rest of his band was getting ready for the concert later. Stephanie was hesitant to walk out there, not wanting to impose on this. She was content to stand offstage as Chris went to the middle of the stage where the rest of his bandmates were standing around, instruments already in hand.

"There you are," Rich said. "It's about damn time."

"Where the hell were you?" Mike, the bassist asked, even though he had been asked that earlier on the phone, by Rich.

"I was out. I had to go see somebody," Chris answered shortly, picking up his guitar and lifting it over to rest the strap on his shoulder, letting the guitar fall against his hip.

"Who could be that important?" Rich asked. "Did some girl throw her thong at you and you just HAD to meet her?"

"What do you take me for?" Chris said.

Frank (not to be confused with the bodyguard) looked up from the drums, "The man never kisses and tells."

"What I do is none of your guy's business," he said with resolve. "Maybe I was with a girl, ok, and if I was, maybe I wouldn't tell you anything about her. You guys need to stop worrying about my love life and concentrate on yours."

"I'm married, so I don't see any action," Rich said with a laugh.

"Married too," Frank said.

"Tana would kill me if I were looking at any other girl," Sean said, "So really, we have nothing, and so we live vicariously through you."

"I'm taken," Chris said proudly. "That's all you need to know. So no living vicariously through me because I'm not dating around."

"Taken? You mean between last night and today, you're taken?" Rich asked.

"Yes, between last night and today, I was taken, so if you have any sick fantasies of me sleeping with multiple women who I happen to meet backstage, then you're going to have to keep that to yourself because my GIRLFRIEND is not going to like that," Chris said smugly.

"And how long before you find a flaw in this one?" Frank laughed. "Oh no you guys, her eyes were too close together, I always felt like she was looking down on me…"

"Or how about, she kept her nails too long, every time she tapped me on the shoulder it felt like she was trying to stab me," Sean added.

"No you guys," Rich said, "The best one yet, her earlobes hung too low, it looks like she's an elephant. She must wear twenty pound earrings every night."

"Ok, those are legit things to be concerned about. And when you can't stop staring at said earlobes, you've got a problem."

"Aisley had a rack on her though," Sean said. "I mean, how in the hell could you be staring at her earlobes when that chest is staring you right in the face man."

"I'll be sure to tell Tana you thought that," Chris said smartly. "Look, whatever I did with those girls, whatever I thought, it's not going to happen with my girlfriend now, she's flawless."

"Liar," Frank said in a high-pitched voice. Stephanie stood just offstage having heard what Chris had said about her. She thought it was sweet that he thought she was flawless, even if she was anything but. Although hearing about all those other girls was kind of off-putting, but she had been married, and at least Chris didn't have four or five marriages under his belt.

"I'm not lying you guys…she's…look, think about how you guys feel about your chicks, and then you'll know how I feel about this one."

"Dude, how could you possibly feel something for someone that you only hooked up with last night?" Frank asked. "I mean, when did you meet her, yesterday morning."

"Before you met your wife Frank, I met her before that, and before you met Tana, Sean. Rich, you've been married forever man, so not that long, but pretty damn close. I've known her for over ten years."

"Holy shit, it's HER," Rich said, the pieces finally coming together.

"You guys! We need a soundcheck and soon," Bradley, their manager said from the seats.

"This conversation is NOT over," Rich said. "Because it's HER, I know it is."

"Who's her?" Frank asked, then counting down on his drumsticks.

They momentarily forgot the conversation as they performed the soundcheck, making sure that everything would be running for the show that evening. Stephanie watched from the sidestage and was content to just stand there and watch. Nobody even bothered her for the most part until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw the bodyguard Frank standing there, a small, amused smile on his face.

"Sorry about last night," he told her.

She laughed, "I didn't give you very much confidence in me. Thank YOU for letting me in."

"Well, if I had known who you were, I'd probably be a little more accepting of letting you in. I probably should've taken that pay-off."

"I would've given it to you."

"Just wanted to let you know there won't be no more mistakin' who you are, so no need to bring any extra cash next time you show up."

"Thanks…Frank, right?"

"Yeah, and you're Stephanie. I'm thinking we gotta get used to each other since you're with Chris now."

"I think we should, but hopefully it'll be better than our first meeting."

"I figure it will…you want me to show you around, that soundcheck can take a while…and us backstage people tend to get bored."

"Yeah, I'll take you up on that."

"Anything for the girl from the song?" Frank said to her.

Stephanie turned to him, cocking her head to the side, not getting his reference. "What do mean, 'the girl from the song'? Is that some term you call the band's girlfriend's?"

"No, I mean, you're the girl from Chris's song."

"Oh," Stephanie said, remembering that Chris had told her that he had written a song for her. But she didn't know that people actually referred to her as "the girl from the song." "Is this a relatively common thing to say that about me?"

"No, just nobody knew about it, or who you were. Chris just came up this song one day and nobody could figure out where the hell it came from. Everyone wondered who the girl in the song was about. He gets asked that in almost every interview he does."

"And I'm the girl…" she said, her voice trailing off.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Frank said to her.

"No, you didn't, I mean…he had mentioned it, I just didn't know it was such a big thing." She hadn't known that Chris's feelings ran that deep either. She had mostly forgotten about the song that he had written for her, feeling it inconsequential, but to think that everyone was so involved in this mystery, even someone close to him, as she imagined Frank was, since he spoke so candidly of Chris. She was the cause of some big music industry mystery; it was both flattering and frightening.

"Well, it's not…really," he said, sensing that she didn't really want to talk about it. "Mostly just teasing…"

"Oh, well…ok," Stephanie said, narrowing her eyes as they walked to wherever Frank wanted to show her.

Meanwhile, the band was taking a break as they made some adjusting to the lighting. Chris was fiddling with his guitar, not really doing anything to it, but wanting to give the illusion that he was actually keeping busy. He didn't want to get in another discussion about Stephanie. It was bad enough that everyone knew her as the girl from the song, but he didn't want to answer their twenty questions on the subject.

Unfortunately, his illusion was not very good as Rich came up to him, "It's the girl right?"

"What girl?" Chris said, playing dumb.

"You know what girl? The mysterious girl that broke your heart and you were never able to get over."

"She didn't break my heart. There was no reason for her to break my heart. I never even pursued her before a couple of months ago."

"And before that?"

"She was married," Chris said. "So there's nothing more to say. She got divorced, I ran into her, and we got to know each other again. It's no big deal."

"She works for WWE doesn't she?" Rich asked. "You said you had known her for years, she must've been there, right?"

"Yeah," Chris said, hating the questioning, but finding no alternative than to just tell the truth. "She still works there."

"Oh really, I should've paid better attention to it then. So do we get to meet her? Is she here?"

"You've met her," Chris said, "So there's no introductions needed. Leave me alone."

"Look, we've waited years and years to know who this chick is. We've had a song about her that we've done hundreds of times, and we never even knew who she was. We deserve to at least know her. What if you marry her? Are we going to be invited?"

"No," Chris said. "I'll keep it a secret from you guys."

"Great Chris, just great, the animosity man, it does not create a good band vibe."

"Is this soundcheck over!" Chris yelled.

"Take a break you guys!" their manager yelled. Chris thankfully took his guitar off, setting it back in its place and storming out of there. Sometimes he hated when his business had to be publicized. Soon everyone would know about Stephanie, but he just wanted to keep it his for a little while. But as soon as it got out to the media, he was doomed to the questioning.

He went backstage, expecting to see Stephanie waiting for him, but she wasn't there. He wandered around some, trying to find her, but she wasn't anywhere. He started to get a little worried, thinking that since their day had been ruined that she might have left because she was angry. He hoped it hadn't come to that; he should've known this would be boring for her.

He found her with Frank and a couple of the backstage crew members laughing and sitting around on some equipment trunks. His breath slowed down and he walked over as casually as possible. Stephanie spotted him and hopped off the trunk she was sitting on, taking a helping hand from Frank. She walked over to Chris with a grin on her face.

"There you are," he said, taking her hand in his.

"Here I am," she said. "Frank was just getting me acquainted with everyone, and it's really fun. Not much different from wrestling actually."

"You've got yourself a winner here Boss," Frank said as he walked up behind Stephanie. "I'm going to have to tell that joke to some buddies of mine. That was classic."

"I'm sorry if this has been boring for you," Chris said apologetically.

"Please, I'm having fun."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Chris Jericho, Chris Jericho!" a myriad of voices said from down the hallway. Chris turned to see a bunch of different press people that he recognized standing there.

"Shit," Chris said. "I told them specifically that questions would be answered after the show."

He looked around, looking for a quick escape, and Frank stepped up, "You go Boss, I'll take care of them."

"Thanks man," Chris said, patting his shoulder as he grabbed Stephanie's hand.

"Chris Jericho, who's the girl!" one of the press people yelled.

Chris just kept running, dragging Stephanie behind them as he tried to find his dressing room. Eventually locating it, he flung himself and Stephanie inside as he locked the door and panted, obviously out of breath. Stephanie was out of breath too, not expecting people to try and run after Chris asking questions.

"I'm guessing they were the press."

"They saw us, and now they want to know who you are and why you're here. I don't want to deal with them before we're ready. God, some things are just none of their damn business."

"It's ok," Stephanie said, putting a placating hand on his arm. "Today's been rough on you hasn't it?"

Chris slumped down on his couch. "Well, it was going great, up until your brother looked at me distrustfully. Then I come here and get harangued by my bandmates, and then chased down by the media."

Stephanie laughed, despite Chris feeling so down about the situation. She sat down in his lap and kissed him gently, letting her tongue part his lips a little and let her enter his mouth. Chris returned the kiss eagerly, this being the only thing he really wanted to do today. Forget the concert, he just wanted to stay in his dressing room, kissing and touching Stephanie.

"I guess this is my life from now on," she said with a giggle, "Running from the paparazzi, or whatever they like to be called."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of music," Chris deadpanned. Stephanie scrunched up her nose.

"I think I'll get used to it. I just wonder how Hunter will take it."

"Who the hell cares?"

"Sue me, I want revenge."

"I guess I can help out with that," Chris smiled.

"I think you're already doing a pretty good job of that."


	14. Chapter 14

"So you're definitely going to be here tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you ask me everyday Stephanie, and it's been the same for the past week. As soon as the wrap-up party is finished, I will be on a plane there to be with you and the girls."

"And you haven't changed your mind in the past month right?" Stephanie asked playfully, knowing that Chris hadn't changed his mind. If anything, the forced separation had just made him want to be with her more. He was glad that the tour was coming to a close that evening. He would be flying out the next morning to Greenwich to see Stephanie and the girls.

"No, I haven't changed my mind."

"Well, good, because that would be very upsetting," she told him. "So have you been heckled any more by anyone?"

"Of course I have, any chance anyone gets. But it's really none of their business. I'm not going to be exploiting you or our relationship. They just need to get over that. It's bad enough I get hassled by the guys, but the media really has no business trying to get into my personal life."

"I guess people are just curious."

"I don't want our picture plastered over every magazine in the known universe," Chris told her.

"It will eventually though. I mean, you can't keep me hidden forever. You can probably try, but I don't think that it's going to work. Not with how famous you are, my friend, you're completely in the spotlight."

"I've never had this kind of trouble before," he admitted to her with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Yeah, but all your previous girlfriends have been actresses and models. I am neither an actress nor a model. Well, I kind of act for wrestling, but it's very different, I'm playing a parody of myself."

"Well, then the media just has to deal with the fact that I'm not dating someone obnoxiously famous."

"Just a little bit famous, in wrestling."

"Yeah, and that's fine with me," Chris said. "I have to go soon, they want me out on stage."

"Ok, and see how agreeable I am, it's because I know that you're going to be back tomorrow. I don't have to wait that long."

"Nope…so are you going to tell the girls?"

"Yeah, I'm going to let them know what's going on. Though I'm pretty sure that Ferris already knows, or at least suspects something. Nothing gets past her, nothing."

"I get that already."

"She's too smart for her own good though," Stephanie said with a laugh. "But they'll be fine with it, I'm sure. They've let go of the dream of Hunter coming back for good. They have you now."

"You all have me now, not just them," Chris said firmly.

Stephanie smiled at that, "I'll let you go now. I'll go talk to them right now, the sooner the better."

"See you tomorrow," he said.

"That sounds really good," Stephanie said, "Tomorrow."

Stephanie hung up the phone and clutched the phone to her chest a little bit. The past month was tough going without Chris. Having a boyfriend who wasn't around was strange, but nothing she couldn't get used to. At least he wasn't still a wrestler, so he wasn't gone for days at a time every week. Chris and his band and their managers dictated when they toured and when they were away. It helped to know that there was at least a flexibility with his job.

Now he was coming here after his tour wrapped up, and he didn't have anything major scheduled for months. He would probably have to do some interviews and one-time performances, but he was going to be around. She was very excited to see him; they had spoken everyday, but it wasn't the same. She had also seen him on television, in various interviews and appearances. She had seen first-hand how the media was trying to get her name, but Chris hadn't given up her name, or her anonymity.

"Mommy! Was that Chris?" Keagan asked as she ran into the kitchen.

"Yup."

"I didn't get to talk to him," Keagan said with a small frown.

Stephanie picked her up and kissed her nose, "He's coming here tomorrow, and you guys will get to see him then."

"Tomorrow!" Keagan cheered.

"Yeah, tomorrow, where's your sister?" Stephanie asked.

Keagan pursed her lips, trying to think of when she had last seen Ferris. "I dunno. Playroom?"

"Well, let's go see if she's in there then, cause I have to talk to the both of you about something."

"What Mommy?" Keagan asked.

"I'll tell you when we find Ferris."

"Are we going somewhere?" she asked.

"Someone is impatient," Stephanie laughed.

"What's that?"

"When you can't wait like a good, little girl," Stephanie told her. She and Keagan went down the hallway to the playroom. Ferris was lying on her side on the couch watching a cartoon on the television. Stephanie let Keagan down and she ran to jump on the couch. Stephanie grabbed the remote off the arm of the couch and turned the television off.

"Mommy, I was watching that," Ferris said, sitting up.

"I'll put it back on in a second. I just needed to talk to you two about something," Stephanie said seriously, hoping that the tone would let them know that this was serious. She and Chris had decided not to actually tell the girls until they were a little more comfortable with each other. Over the past month, through numerous phone conversations, they had gotten a lot closer, and more sure of the relationship that they were starting.

Now she was just going to let the girls know that Chris was going to be around more, but not just as her friend. She didn't know how the girls would react, but she had a good feeling about it. She hadn't dated, but they did know about the woman that Hunter was seeing. Stephanie had been rather blunt about that, not so blunt she told them how she came to find out about their father's other woman.

"What?" Ferris asked, looking up at Stephanie.

"It's about Chris," Stephanie told him, and Ferris smiled.

"What about him, Mommy?" Ferris said, and Stephanie thought she detected a little bit of a smirk on her face, but she couldn't be sure. If there was a smirk, then Ferris was more Stephanie's daughter than ever before.

"Well, you know that I've been talking to him again."

"We know," Ferris said.

"Yeah, we know," Keagan mimicked.

"Fine then, you know," Stephanie joked. "Well, Mommy and Chris have decided to see each other a lot more, so he's going to be around more. Because I like Chris, and Chris likes me."

"Are you kissing him?" Ferris asked with a giggle.

Stephanie blushed, for whatever reason she didn't know. She didn't think she was going to be called out by her daughter. "Yes, I'm kissing him."

"So you're going to marry him!" Ferris asked excitedly. Stephanie laughed at how smart and yet how innocent she could be. For her, kissing led straight to marriage, even though it was very much untrue, unless you were crazy and married someone you barely knew.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that Fer, but if I fall in love with him, then it's a possibility, but right now, we're just going to be going out together."

"I'm happy for you, Mommy," Ferris told her. "I like Chris a lot."

"Well, I'm glad I have your permission," Stephanie said, ruffling Ferris's hair.

"Mine too!" Keagan said, smiling widely.

"Well, I'm sure that Chris is going to be happy to hear that."

"What about Daddy though?" Ferris spoke up. "Is Daddy going to be mad?"

"Well, Daddy really has no say in what I do, so what he thinks doesn't matter. As long as I like him and you guys like him, then those are the only opinions that I care about. Now how about I go make dinner?"

The rest of the night was pretty mundane. Stephanie tried to keep her excitement to a minimum, but it was difficult. She put the milk in the cupboard four times she was so flustered. Even Ferris and Keagan noticed the difference in their mother's behavior. She just couldn't wait for Chris to get back the next day, and she couldn't go to bed soon enough. She tried to stay up and go to bed late so she would sleep through the night, and she had to fight the urge to go to bed at a ridiculously early time so that she would fall asleep and the hours until Chris got there.

She slept fitfully the entire night, her excitement never dissipating. She finally managed to get some good sleep around 4:00. Before she knew it, the light was shining in her face, and she was trying valiantly to get away from the light and grab a few more minutes. She was unable to get any more sleep since Keagan was sneaking into her room.

"Morning Keags," Stephanie told her, showing her that she was awake.

"Hi Mommy," Keagan whispered, "Can I lie down with you?"

"Sure, come on up," Stephanie said, pulling back the blankets a little bit. Keagan ran up to the bed and hopped in beside Stephanie.

"Mommy, is Chris coming today?" Keagan asked as she cuddled up to her mother. Stephanie nodded in response, causing Keagan to whoop for joy. She exclaimed, "Yay! I can't wait to see him!"

"Me too," Stephanie said, her own excitement prevailing. She looked at the clock. "He said that he'd try to be here early."

"When's early?"

"I'm not sure, but hopefully it's soon."

"I drew him a picture when I got out of bed," Keagan said. "Do you think he'll like it?"

"I think he'll love it. I also heard that he might be bringing you guys something, but you didn't hear that from me," Stephanie said slyly.

"Presents!" Keagan said, clapping her hands. "Mommy, I'm hungry, can we have breakfast?"

"Of course we can. Do you know if your sister is awake?"

"Dunno," Keagan shrugged, "I'll go see!"

Keagan hopped out of the bed in no time, not even breaking stride as she landed on the floor and took off running. Even in the morning, Keagan had boundless energy. Stephanie had to remind herself to see if she was sneaking sugar into her food. She got out of bed and went to her dresser, grabbing a hair tie and slinging her hair back into a ponytail and out of her face. When she was done with that, she went into her bathroom to brush her teeth really quickly.

After she freshened up a little bit, she walked out into the hallway and turned right to go see if Ferris was up. She walked through the open door to her daughter's bedroom, and saw that Keagan was standing next to the bed and staring at the sleeping Ferris.

"Keags, let Ferris sleep," Stephanie whispered to her, going over and taking her hand and pulling her away from her sister's bedside.

"But she might miss Chris," Keagan protested.

"When Chris gets here, we'll wake her up if she's still asleep."

"Fine," Keagan conceded as Stephanie led her out of the room. The pair went downstairs to get breakfast, and Keagan climbed onto her chair at the table, sitting on her knees and leaning her elbows on the table, watching as Stephanie went to the pantry and grabbed a box of Cocoa Puffs.

Just as Stephanie set the bowl down on the table, the doorbell rang and immediately her heart went into flutter stage. She grinned at Keagan who looked at her with wide eyes. Stephanie helped her off her chair, and Stephanie had to seriously restrain herself from running to the door. That restraint was not found in her daughter though, as Keagan took off for the door. Stephanie followed, her steps quick and exuberant. She threw open the door and Chris was standing before her.

Before she could even react, Chris had scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tightly. She was stunned for a moment, but forgot that a second later as she returned his hug with vigor. She buried her face into his neck, almost sobbing in happiness. Chris set her down moments later and she pulled away with a grin that was liable to crack her face any moment.

"God, I've missed you," Chris said, leaning in to kiss her, but then stopping mid-way as he saw Keagan standing there next to Stephanie. He was unsure as to what Stephanie had told the girls about him, and his role in Stephanie's life. Stephanie, sensing that he was apprehensive about kissing her, dove in first and kissed him like her life depended on it. Chris just deepened the kiss, having missed her so much over the past month. He had never really had anyone to come home to before, and the feeling was incredible.

When Stephanie pulled away, she looked down to let Keagan get a hug and hello and saw that she was no longer by her side. She wiped off her mouth a little and looked around, thinking that maybe Keagan had turned away from the "yucky" display, as she had been known to describe seeing anybody kiss.

"Where did she go?" Stephanie mused to herself. Chris was too preoccupied just staring at her, taking her in, and she blushed slightly under his intense scrutiny.

Her answer came moments later when she saw Keagan at the top of the stairs, holding onto to a sleepy Ferris's nightshirt, and holding a drawing in her other hand. She tried to pull down Ferris, who still looked like she wanted to go to sleep. Ferris rubbed her eyes a little, trying to get the sleep out and processing why her sister had drug her out of bed while she was still sleeping. She opened her eyes fully for the first time and her eyes lit up when she saw Chris.

"Chris!" Ferris said, making her sister let her go as she bounded down the stairs. She ran straight into Chris's awaiting arms as she crouched down to her level. She hugged him around the neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Chris said sincerely.

"But you're staying now, right?"

"Yeah, I'm staying for a while," Chris said, looking up at Stephanie, and then over to Keagan, who was, shockingly, waiting patiently for her turn. She had learned over the years that being the youngest meant that you had to wait for some things. Chris noticed the paper in her hand. "Keag, what's that?"

"It's for you," she told him, holding up the drawing of a flower and a house. "I made it for you."

"That's pretty great, I'm going to have to frame that and hang it. It's probably going to be worth a million dollars someday."

Keagan giggled as she too ran over for a hug, Chris embracing both the girls at the same time. Stephanie saw how happy they were and felt foolish for thinking that they might not want to see their mommy with a man that wasn't their daddy. But since Daddy was not around these days, they were taking to Chris so well.

And Chris was, for the first time, realizing what it meant to have a family.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ok, so let me get this straight…you sang a song for a movie, and because you sang that song, for that movie, you are invited to the premiere of that movie?"

"Well, yes Steph, but I wouldn't have put it in so many words."

"And what am I supposed to do with this information?"

"I want you to come with me," he told her. "I have two tickets, and I thought it might be fun to go out and have fun together."

Stephanie gave him a look as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Well, I would love to go with you, but there are a few things we have to talk about first though."

"Like what?"

"Well, the girls for one?"

"Can they stay with your parents?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'd love to have them over," Stephanie answered. "And then there's the whole thing about the media, and how much attention this is going to bring to the both of us. Are we prepared?"

"I don't think we are, but you know what, I don't care, I'm happy, and I want to be around you, and I want everyone to know that you are mine, one way or another," Chris said. "If that means flaunting you to the public, as long as you're game, so am I."

"I'm game," she told him. He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

"So I'm going to have to make some arrangements."

"Arrangements?" she asked. "Like getting a dress or something?"

"Well that, and all that girly stuff that I'm sure you'd love."

"But going by myself, I don't know," she said, a bit warily. She had been some movie premieres before, but nothing where she could be considered a big attraction. But Chris was a huge star now, and there had to be some sort of protocol that they followed.

"I'll go with you," he shrugged. "That way you can ask my opinion and we can coordinate our outfits."

She laughed. "I do not want to be one of those couples that dresses alike. I refuse to do that."

"If you refuse…"

Stephanie looked down at her watch and noticed that it was just about the time that she went to pick up the girls from school. She tapped her watch and Chris understood what she meant. He had spent the past two weeks over at Stephanie's house, and they had fallen into an easy routine; him, Stephanie and the girls. Stephanie liked it; it was nice to feel like a complete family again.

"Hey, why don't you stay here, and I'll go pick them up," he suggested.

"Chris, you don't have to do that, I'm fine with picking them up," Stephanie answered.

"Nah, I want to, it's fine. I know where they go to school, and I shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. Maybe I can take them out for ice cream or something. I haven't really gotten to do anything with them where you weren't involved, I think it would be nice for us to have some time together."

"You're right," she responded. "I've been hogging you too much haven't I?"

"A little, yeah," Chris said with a laugh. He leaned across the short amount of couch between them and kissed her gently. She let herself fall into the kiss, and slowly fell against the seat of the couch as Chris hovered over her deliciously. He ran his hand up her side and underneath the blouse she was wearing as she sighed against his mouth.

"Mmm, the girls," Stephanie breathed out as Chris's lips had moved lower to her neck.

"Ok," he said, then pulled away to look at her, winking, "But we'll finish this later tonight?"

"Barring any bad dreams, or late night drinks of waters, I think it's safe to say that tonight we can continue with what we started," she said coyly, twisting some of his hair around her finger and tugging on it softly to pull him down for another kiss.

"And you're sure that you don't mind me in the bed with you. I know you thought it was weird with the girls around."

"I think it'll be ok," she said, pursing her lips the tiniest bit. "I mean, they saw me and Hunter in bed, and they know that mommies and daddies sleep in the same bed. I'm sure that can extend to mommies and Chris's."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, or make the girls feel uncomfortable," he said uncertainly.

"No, this is just something we'll all have to get used to. And you'll just have to get used to…well, getting dressed after we fool around, because with two young kids, they can walk in at anytime, and I am NOT ready to have that talk yet," Stephanie laughed, then kissed him again. "Besides, I'll get cold without you."

"Ok, just making sure. I don't want to scar your kids."

"No, I think you'll be fine, though they might be scarred if they have to wait three hours for someone to pick them up."

"I'm going, I'm going," Chris said, stealing one last kiss from Stephanie before getting off of her. He straightened out his shirt and was on his way. He had just gone ahead and bought a car the other day (such was the life of a rockstar), and so he had his own transportation to get to different places.

He had been contemplating just going ahead and moving up here. He could still keep his house in Florida, but he really enjoyed spending time with Stephanie. He just didn't think they were into the whole "moving in" phase, because they had only been together for about a month and a half, way too early to be making plans like that, though they did creep into his mind every now and then.

But it would be nice to have his own place around here. Maybe just something that he could lease out for a while, but not actually buy, because he didn't foresee himself staying there all that often, but it would still be nice to have some place that he could go to, and feel like it was his own place.

By the time that he was finished with these thoughts, he found himself at the girl's school. Finding a spot, he parked and got out, looking around. He saw some other adults standing in a particular area, and he moseyed over there slowly, hoping not to attract too much attention to himself. Sometimes it was hard to just act like a normal person when you knew that anyone and their mother could recognize you and want an autograph. He knew it wouldn't be too long before someone saw him.

"Excuse me, are you Chris Jericho?" a teenage girl asked as she walked up nervously to him.

"Yeah," he said, rather quietly, hoping nobody else heard. The shriek that came from the girl a moment later didn't help matters any as she jumped up and down in place.

"Oh my God, I love you, you have no idea! You are…oh my God! I was just supposed to pick up my little brother from school, and oh man, I wasn't expecting this, can I have an autograph!"

"Sure," he said, kindly, "Do you have a pen and paper?"

"In my purse," she said, running to her car to grab one and rushing back over to Chris again. He politely asked her, her name and then wrote a small note to her on the piece of paper that she had thrust at him.

This set off a wildfire of whispers and pointing as Chris was suddenly bombarded with people asking for autographs and pictures. He tried to sign everything, but it was hard with the throng of people coming up to him. He finally had to decline people when he saw that the kids were getting let out of school. He apologized to those he didn't get to as Keagan and Ferris exited the building together and looked around. Chris tried to push his way away from the people and the girls spotted him, running towards him at full speed. Keagan crushed herself against his legs, hugging him for dear life, before looking up at him.

"Chris, we did drawings today! With paint!"

"Did you make one for me?"

"No, I made one for Mommy, but you can have it too," she said, holding up her drawing. "It's an elephant! Kindergarten is the best!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said, lifting her up. "How was your day Fer?"

"It was fine," Ferris said, "I have a note for Mommy though. My teacher wants to talk to her about something. I don't know what though."

"Well, we'll make sure that she gets it," Chris said, wrapping his free arm around her shoulder. He led them to his car and they climbed in the backseat before Chris got in the car. "So do you guys want to go get ice cream or something?"

"Yeah!" Keagan cheered, raising her arms.

"I would," Ferris said with a smile, a couple of her teeth missing.

"Great, because I really wanted some, and I would've been really lonely eating by myself," he said as he drove out of the spot. The trip to the ice cream parlor was short, and they all ordered their own ice cream as they sat at one of the small tables outside, the air not having chilled, still warm from the summer season.

Stephanie actually already had ice cream, and she was eating it as she sat on the couch and watched some boring television show. There really wasn't a lot on during the day, she found. The phone rang, and she was happy for the distraction. She set the ice cream down on the coffee table, on top of a magazine, and picked up the phone, which was next to the ice cream.

"Hello?"

"Hello Stephanie."

"Hunter," Stephanie said curtly. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to the girls, and I don't care if they don't want to talk to me; I'm their father, and I have the right to speak to them," Hunter said, his voice sharp.

"Well, for one, they don't HAVE to, they can speak to you IF they want, and they haven't wanted to. For two, they're not even here," Stephanie told him.

"Where are they? Isn't this when you're supposed to have picked them up and brought them home?"

"Yeah, except I didn't have to today. They're with my boyfriend."

There was silence on the other end of the line for several moments, enough for Stephanie to spoon some more ice cream into her mouth. She didn't feel the need to elaborate anymore on the subject. She could just wait for him to speak, and that's just what she did, letting the words sink in for Hunter.

"You're…what?"

"My boyfriend," she said, elongating every single syllable.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Well, what did you expect? Me to stay single forever? I guess you didn't expect it because I was FAITHFUL throughout our marriage, but our marriage is over, and I have a boyfriend."

"And he's out with my kids!"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, he is," Stephanie said. "And I don't know when they'll be back."

"How the hell could you let some guy go out with my kids!" Hunter said, obviously angry now.

"Oh Hunter, don't tell me you're actually angry about this. Don't try to be sanctimonious about this. When was the last time you SAW the girls Hunter! Huh! Answer me that!"

"Stephanie, I told you why I couldn't come see--"

"NO! You don't get to defend yourself! You don't get to say anything, because you have done nothing, NOTHING to even try to see them! You are barely a father to my little girls, and I put the emphasis on 'MY.' They are MY little girls Hunter, and you cannot say otherwise."

"Bring them out here to see me then," he reasoned.

"Hunter, they're in school right now. They can't just jet over to California. They need to be here, if you want to see them, I won't stop you, but you have to come here."

"Look, Shayna has--"

"And once again, it comes to light who really matters," Stephanie said with a sigh, the fight drained out of her. "I'm not going to fight with you Hunter. If you want to see them, come see them. But I'm not going to force them to talk to you, and I'm not going to take them all the way out there."

"Stephanie, I don't like this."

"Well, you've had months and months to rectify it, but you chose not to. They're happy Hunter, and you're not a part of that. You gave it up for your girlfriend, and they've moved on."

"But I'm their father!"

"Then act like one, please," she said, "I've gotta go, I hear a car pulling up."

Stephanie hung up the phone and set it back down on the coffee table. At least Hunter knew that she had a boyfriend. She wondered what he would do when he found out that her boyfriend was someone he knew. She leaned back on the couch, her arms folded together as she looked at the carpet.

"Mommy! We're home!" Keagan ran into the room and jumped on the couch, holding the picture that she had painted. "I made this for you, it's an elephant."

"Thanks," Stephanie said, looking at it, "This is definitely going on the fridge. Right in the middle where everyone can see."

"Yay! Can I go watch TV in the playroom?"

"Sure," Stephanie called out, as Keagan fled the room and down the hallway. Ferris and Chris came in together, laughing about something and Stephanie smiled softly over the picture they made.

"Hi Mommy, I have a note from Mrs. Dondero for you," Ferris said, handing the note over.

"Did you get in trouble Miss Ferris?" Stephanie asked sternly.

"I don't know, can I go play with Keag?"

"Yeah, but I might call you back in here to talk to you, ok?" Ferris nodded and left the room quietly. Chris sat down next to Stephanie and watched her open the letter. Her eyes scanned it and she smiled to herself. She looked up to Chris again, "They want her to skip a grade. They said that she's become increasingly bored with the material she's given and if she passes a test then she can skip right to the next grade."

"Wow."

"I know," Stephanie said, giggling, "I don't think I've ever been so proud."

"You should be, this is a huge thing."

"It is," Stephanie said. Even though she seemed happy, Chris could tell that something was wrong. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, pulling her towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"Hunter called, he knows I have a boyfriend, and he hates it. What right it gives him, I don't know, but he hates it."

"Ok, but--"

"I didn't tell him it was you, I guess he'll find out soon enough, but…what if he shows up?"

"You think he will?"

"I think he might, and I don't know what I'm going to do if that happens."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you like this story. I'm sorry for this incredibly boring chapter, but it sets up things for later chapters. The next chapter should be really, really good, and a lot of you are anticipating Hunter coming back, and you won't have to wait too much longer. ;)

* * *

"Ok girls, do you think that you have everything that you need?"

"Mommy, why can't we go with you and Chris?" Keagan asked as she put her toothbrush into her small pink suitcase. "We'll be good, we promise."

Stephanie kneeled down next to her daughter and put her hands on her shoulders. "I know that you would be good, you're always good, but Mommy and Chris are going to be so busy so it would be no fun for you or Fer."

"Oh," Keagan said, taking a deep sigh. "But we really would be good."

"You're always good," Stephanie said giving her a hug, "You know I'll miss you so much. Who's going to wake me up every morning? I'll probably sleep in and forget everything I was supposed to do."

"I can call you right Mommy?"

"You can always call me, there is never a moment where I wouldn't love to hear your pretty voice."

Keagan smiled and closed her suitcase. "Ok Mommy, I'm ready."

"Well aren't you efficient?" Stephanie said, zipping it closed. "And you have everything that you want to bring with you?"

"Mmhmm," Keagan nodded. "Do I have to bring food?"

"You know that you don't have to bring food silly girl," Stephanie answered, taking her into her arms and giving her a big hug. Keagan giggled as Stephanie started to tickle her, laughing herself as her daughter tried to pull away from her.

"So you're absolutely, positively ready to go to grandma and grandpa's?" Stephanie asked seriously.

"Uh huh, I told you already."

"I know that you told me, but I'm your Mommy and that means that I have to ask you a lot of times to make sure that you ARE ready."

"I'm ready!" she yelled, jumping and up and down exasperated.

"Ok!" Stephanie said, standing up. "Now Ferris and Chris are downstairs waiting for you. Why don't you grab your teddy bear and go down while I grab your suitcase."

"Ok Mommy," Keagan said, bounding out of the room and down the stairs to go where Chris was. Chris was standing in the foyer with Ferris and Keagan ran up to him and he scooped her up in his arms. "I'm ready Chris…are you sure I can't go."

"Well, don't you want to have fun with your grandma and grandpa?"

"Yeah, but I like you," she told him, looking down and pouting.

"Your Mommy and I won't be gone too long, and then when we come back, you can tell us all the fun things that you did and your mom and I will be very jealous and then we'll wish we had stayed."

"Promise?"

"I promise to be jealous," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Now let's get you to your grandma and grandpa's house so you can start with the fun."

"But we have to wait for Mommy!"

"I'm already here though," Stephanie said, showing up behind Keagan. The four of them walked out to Chris's car and Chris helped Keagan inside. Keagan and Ferris occupied themselves in the back seat while Chris and Stephanie chatted about their trip in the front seat.

"So I was thinking that tonight we could just relax and kind of settle in, and then tomorrow is when the real fun begins," Chris said to her.

"Yeah, that sounds wonderful," she answered, grabbing his right hand and holding it as she turned to her side so she could see his face. "But before that, I'm sure that my parents are going to want to breakfast with us."

"How do you know they're going to want that?" he asked.

"Because my mom asked us to breakfast," Stephanie said, biting her lip. "I would've told you, but I didn't want you to be nervous or anything. It'll all be very casual, I think they just want to hear about what we're going to be doing, and you know, that kind of stuff."

"But you didn't feel the need to tell me, despite the fact that it's casual?" he smirked.

"Well, I mean, they want to meet you…"

"Stephanie, your parents are Vince and Linda McMahon right?"

"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?"

"I've known them for years, you know, I used to work for your company. I was something called a wrestler, went into a ring, exchanged moves with another guy, or more than one guy, and then I'd talk and talk…nothing much."

"I know, but you haven't met them as my boyfriend," Stephanie said. "And that's what they want to meet you as, not as someone that used to work for them. They know that side of you…we all do. Brash, cocky jerk."

"Hey! I was not brash," Chris answered.

"But you were cocky."

"And rightfully so. And you could've just told me about it. I wouldn't have been nervous. If I had just started going out with you with no background whatsoever, then yeah, I'd be nervous, but I know Linda and I know Vince, and I'm not going to be nervous meeting people I've already met, regardless if they are your parents."

"Ok, it's just, it's only been a month that we've been going out, officially…sort of, I mean, when you were here, technically, it's been a while longer, but I didn't want to put the pressure on you."

"I think you're the one who's nervous," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow as he took a moment to glance at her.

"A little…I just…it's been so long since I've brought someone home. I'm so sorry, but you are going to hear so many comparisons to the last time that I brought someone home, and that person is always going to be Hunter. But I don't want you to think that I'm comparing the two of you, because I'm not, I'm just trying to say that I'm really still new at this dating stuff. I've forgotten how to do it."

"I think you're doing fine right now."

"Good, but if I ever get bad at this girlfriend business, just let me know."

"I will make note of that," he told her as they pulled into her parent's driveway. "So when are you going to meet my parents?"

"Whenever you feel the need to," she answered. "I plan on sticking around for a long while so I don't think that meeting them any time soon would be out of the question. My family does have the private jet."

"Yeah, and I can pay for a private jet too," Chris answered, making a face.

"Come on," she said, tugging his hand as he turned off the car. "Get your things girls, Chris will get your bags ok?"

"Ok," the two little girls answered in unison.

Chris went and got their bags as Stephanie helped the girls get their things and get out of the car. Chris had the bags in his hands while Stephanie waited for him to catch up. Keagan and Ferris had run up ahead and Keagan was standing on her tiptoes ringing the doorbell numerous times. Stephanie wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned up to kiss his cheek when he came up to her.

Linda opened the door and opened up her arms to receive her granddaughters. As she stood back up she caught sight of Chris and Stephanie walking up the pathway to the house. Stephanie was telling him something and he was nodding, and it was such a simple gesture, but to Linda it spoke a thousand words. Stephanie looked genuinely happy, and she hadn't looked that way in a long time, not with anything except the girls. But she just had a smile on her face and her eyes were shining. It was nice to see that her daughter was trying to get her romantic life back on track. This was the first time she had even seen them together, but she could already tell they cared deeply for one another.

"Hey Mom," Stephanie said, letting go of Chris to hug her mother. "How are you?"

"I'm well," Linda answered, "But come inside, we've been waiting for you."

"We're sorry, we just had some last minute packing to do."

"It's fine, we've kept the food warm," she said, ushering Chris and Stephanie into the house. "Chris, why don't you just put the girl's suitcases by the stairs, and I'll tend to them later. I want to give you a proper hello."

Chris obediently did what Linda said and then walked over to where Stephanie was standing. He had been in the McMahon house a few times, mostly for company party type things, and once before he entered the company for a personal meeting with Vince. But this time was different, he wasn't their employee, he was Stephanie's boyfriend, and that made a lot of difference, because now he really had to impress these people. He wasn't just trying to showcase his talent in the ring for a job, he was trying to showcase how good he would be for Stephanie.

"Well, it is nice to see you again Chris," Linda said, sticking her hand out.

Chris shook it firmly, "You too Linda."

"We're so glad that you could join us today. We haven't really gotten to see you in so long, it's kind of odd to just see you again, but you are always welcome…won't you come inside? I think Vince is reading the paper at the table, and griping about the food of course."

"Just like Dad," Stephanie said, grabbing Chris's hand for support. "Keags, Fer, let's go eat breakfast in the dining room."

"We're already in here Mommy!" Keagan yelled.

"I guess they were hungrier than we thought," Chris said to Stephanie, who laughed. Chris let Stephanie lead him into the dining room behind Linda and upon seeing them, Vince stood up and walked over, giving Stephanie a light hug before extending his hand to Chris.

"Chris, it's nice to see you," Vince said. "And under such unique circumstances."

"You too Vince, it's been a while."

"It certainly has, but we've all been amazed at the kind of success that you've achieved, it's incredible. And we've definitely missed you on the shows these past years, you should come back."

"Dad, can you please not make this into a business meeting," Stephanie hissed, then smiled sweetly at Chris. "I'm sorry Chris, sometimes my father cannot discern between business and family."

"It's fine," Chris said. "If you ever need me for anything Vince, I'd be glad to help out…as long as it doesn't take me away from some people for very long."

The googly eyes that Chris and Stephanie made to each other were quite sickening, but she certainly deserved it after the way that Hunter had treated her. Linda invited everyone to sit down for breakfast and it was very cordial and fun. Linda and Vince made Chris feel very much at home, which wasn't too difficult because they knew him already, and they had many things to discuss with him. Vince even did get Chris to promise to make an appearance at the next WrestleMania, under what capacity they had yet to figure out.

Stephanie was just happy that everyone was getting along. She should have figured as much though, simply because this was not unfamiliar territory with Chris. He was right when he said that he knew Vince and Linda, and that wouldn't make him nervous. He certainly didn't seem nervous right now. It was like he was right at home, and that made her happier than ever, reaching under the table to grab his hand.

"So you're going to a movie premiere, that's what Stephanie said," Linda said as the adults sat sipping their coffee, the breakfast table having been cleared.

"Yeah, I sang the title song, and they want me to make an appearance, it's kind of a big thing," Chris answered. "This happens every once in a while, usually I just go alone, but since I'm with Stephanie now, I think it'd be cool of her to come with me."

"I want to go though, so it's not like he's forcing me," Stephanie laughed.

"It sounds like fun."

"It can be," Chris said. "I just don't look forward to the paparazzi. They're so annoying and they pry into your business like you're their best friend. It gets irksome sometimes when you can't even have a private life."

"But for the most part, Chris and I have been able to elude them," Stephanie told them. "I think it's because he's here and not in Florida."

"Or because everyone expects me to be with some supermodel or something. It's the rock star way to be."

"Oh, it's a difficult life he leads," Stephanie teased. She looked at her watch and declared, "Chris, I think we should probably head out. We want to give ourselves enough time to get through the airport."

"Ok, it's been really good seeing you again Linda, Vince, I'm sure I'll see you a lot more."

"Yes, you will," Linda said with a smile. "And you are welcome here any time."

"I'll give you a call to iron out those details for an appearance," Vince nodded to him.

"Good, I'll look forward to that. Maybe I can even be the commissioner or something," he chuckled.

"Well that would be shocking, to say the least," Vince said as they all stood up. Stephanie and Chris said their final goodbyes to the girls and they were escorted out to their car. They waved as they pulled out of the driveway and made their way to the airport. A couple hours later, they were flying over the country, Stephanie curled up against Chris's side. She didn't know what it was about airplanes, but they always made her tired.

"You know, you don't have to show up on Raw or a Pay-Per-View or anything," Stephanie said. "My dad is just trying to wrangle you into it because you're my boyfriend."

"I know, but it's cool. It would be good to go to the old stomping ground."

"Do you ever miss it?" she asked. "Wrestling I mean."

"Hell yeah I do," he said. "But I think it was just time for me to move on, you know. I had accomplished everything I was capable of accomplishing."

"So how much ring rust do you think you have?" she questioned curiously.

"Why, are you going to make me get in the ring, I'm older now, I don't know if I can keep up with any of those young guys. I'm over the hill."

"Please, remember Ric, he wrestled well into his fifties."

"Yeah, I realize that," he laughed. "I don't know, I think I can still go, but whatever capacity your father wants me in is fine. I have missed the business. Being in the music industry is an entirely different thing. Friendships are very fickle and mostly money-driven, but when you're in wrestling, it's almost like, a camaraderie because you spend so much time with those guys."

"I know," she said. "I work there too."

"I've noticed that you haven't exactly been on television."

"I work behind the scenes mostly, ever since I had Ferris and Keagan. It just got too hard to go on the road. I'm hoping to go back someday, when our lives are more stable. There's nothing like it."

"Being backstage huh? With all the activity and adrenaline, and then going out there and performing."

"It must be like a concert."

"Better," he said. "With wrestling, it was…I don't know…I do miss it though. I'm glad I'll get a chance to go back."

"And now you're super famous," she pointed out.

"So can I request a feud from the head of creative?"

"Well, I don't know if she likes to take suggestions," Stephanie said coyly.

"I was wondering if I could have a feud with a certain brunette. She's feisty and I know that we have great chemistry."

She raised her eyebrows and kissed him quickly. "I think that might be able to be arranged. Boy, won't people be surprised by that!"

"Hey, blast from the past," he laughed. "So are you ready to make your debut?"

"Hmm…I think I am. Bring on the madness."


	17. Chapter 17

"So how do you think I look?"

"My answer is going to pretty much always be great," Chris said with a laugh as he saw Stephanie try on her fifth outfit that day. They had gotten in touch with Chris's stylist in Los Angeles, and he and Stephanie were at his shop, trying on outfits that she would wear that evening for the movie premiere.

Stephanie had never had so much attention put into the way she looked, but it was fun. When she was on-screen in WWE, she would usually have a bunch of outfits that she could wear and then would choose one, or sometimes, she would wear some of her own clothes. Never had she had anyone pick out different outfits for her and then let her try them on to see which ones looked best.

They weren't anything fancy, since this wasn't the Academy Awards or anything, but it was still nice to get a little bit dressed up. She had tried on a few dresses, nothing too out there, and nothing too conservative. Chris already knew what he was wearing, and she wanted to have as much flair as he always did with his crazy outfits. Right now, she was trying on a pair of white Capri pants with a rather eclectic green top. She wasn't sure if it was the right look for her, and she made a face at him.

"I don't really like it."

"Then don't wear it," Chris told her. "It's your choice Steph, anything in here that you want, you can have."

"Chris, I don't want you to spoil me," Stephanie said. She knew that Chris had more than enough money to take care of her for the rest of her life, with millions and millions left to spare, but she didn't want that. Chris's money was a plus, yes, but she had never been hurting for money before, and she wouldn't now either.

"I'm not, I just want you to feel comfortable tonight."

She walked over to him and stood, looking down at him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're nervous for me huh?"

"They're going to be animals Steph," Chris said. "They've done this to me time and time again."

"I know," she answered. "I've read all the tabloids and all of that stuff. Every single girl you've gone out with has been plastered all over the papers, and every one they say, 'oh is this the girl he's going to marry?' or some gibberish like that."

"I don't want them to do that to you," Chris said, standing up and grabbing her hands. "Just don't run off because it gets hectic and you suddenly find yourself in every magazine."

"I wouldn't," Stephanie said. "Now, I really liked that black beaded tank top and these pants. I think it's really my style, and I would also look great next to you in it. What do you think?"

"If that's what you want," Chris said.

Stephanie giggled like a schoolgirl and bounced off to get the other part of her outfit. It took her only a few minutes to get changed and when she came back out, Chris was happy that she seemed so happy with her choice of outfit. He paid for her clothes, as much as she tried to get him to let her pay.

They went back to their hotel to relax after that. Chris didn't want to run the risk that they were get seen and mobbed if they went out somewhere. Stephanie didn't fully get why he was so nervous for her, but he had a lot more experience in this area. She had never had to worry about going to the store and getting mobbed or anything like that. Sure, she would get the occasional wrestling fan ask for her autograph, but that was probably nothing compared to how Chris was treated.

She snuggled up to him as they sat on the couch in their suite watching television. She sighed in happiness as Chris starting running his fingers through her hair absently. She wondered if he was doing that on purpose or if he didn't even realize he was doing it. It was nice though, very lulling and she probably could've fallen asleep right there, she was so relaxed at that point.

"I think we'll be fine," she blurted out quite suddenly.

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"Tonight, tomorrow, you know, in general, I think we'll be fine. I mean, by this time next week, we'll be old news right? Some celebrity is bound to screw up in some fashion, or some Hollywood marriage is bound to break up right?"

He laughed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So see, no reason to be worried," she said, pulling away a little so that she could look at his face. "I can handle whatever is thrown at me Chris. I really think that you underestimate me. Don't you remember how I am?"

"I should," he nodded. "If anyone can tackle anything, I guess it would be you."

"You guess right," she said, standing up. "Now should I go get ready?"

Chris looked at the clock, "Yeah, I guess, the limo is going to be here in an hour and a half to pick us up."

"Ok," she answered. "That'll give me just enough time to get ready."

"Thank God there's two bathrooms in here," Chris muttered to himself.

An hour and a half later, the two of them were ready, or at least Chris was ready. Stephanie was still finishing up, and Chris was waiting by the door, trying not to be impatient. The limo hadn't even arrived yet, so they had time. Chris just wanted to go and get this over with. He still wasn't looking forward to it.

That was one thing that Chris really never got used to when he had turned really famous. The media would just consistently hound him, and he had never been in that position before. The crowds he could stand, the fans he enjoyed, but the media, oh man, the media he could absolutely do without.

Stephanie stepped out of the doorway, and Chris smiled. She was looking beautiful, but that was nothing new. Stephanie had aged beautifully, and she hardly looked any different than she had when he left the company, if anything her maturity made her even more beautiful to him. Stephanie was not your conventional beauty in the way that she was this thin little thing with the perfect body and face and all the things that usually made someone gorgeous to the masses, but Stephanie had something better that he couldn't explain.

Stephanie gave him a little twirl, "And the woman is ready."

"About time," Chris said, opening his arm to her. Stephanie gave him a look and walked over, letting him wrap his arm around her. He opened the door and they walked out into the hallway. They were going to be meeting his manager, Bradley, down in the lobby before they would leave for the premiere.

"So you sang the song alone?" Stephanie asked, remembering what he had said earlier.

"Yup, I sometimes do solo work. It's not metal, the song that is, so that's pretty much why."

"Oh, look at you, showing your range as a singer."

"Shut up," he said, kissing her temple.

They went downstairs and Chris had a brief meeting with his manager before he escorted them into the limo. Stephanie and Chris sat in the back as Stephanie stared out the window. It occurred to her that she was pretty much in the same city as her ex-husband. He would surely be surprised if he knew that she was here with her new boyfriend. She wondered what he was doing, and Chris saw that she was furrowing her brow, deep in thought.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked quietly.

"I just realized that somewhere right out there is Hunter," she said, turning to him. "He's here, and I could go see him and chew him out for not being in his daughter's lives. I mean, he's right there and he still refuses."

"His loss," Chris told her. "I don't know why any guy would want to turn away from them. But don't think about him. If we happen to run into him, then yeah, chew him out, but let's try to have fun tonight."

"Ok, and we will," Stephanie said. "I can feel it."

They arrived at the theater, and Stephanie could already hear the yelling and see the flashbulbs through the windows. She suddenly became nervous and had no idea why. This wasn't a big deal, she was just going to go out with Chris…in front of the world…and everybody, no, no pressure at all. Chris kissed her out of her reverie and gave her a supportive smile.

"You ready?"

"No," she said with a nervous giggle.

"We'll be fine, I'll be right next to you the entire time," he told her, running him thumb down her jaw line and kissing her again.

"Well, I knew that," she said sarcastically. "Ok, let's go, it's been a while since I saw a good movie that didn't involve animation of some kind."

"Would it be wrong to tell you that this is animated?" Chris laughed.

"It isn't!"

"Nah, I just wanted to see your reaction," Chris said as a valet opened the door for them.

Chris stepped out first, amidst the cheers and yelling from the crowd of fans and from the media. He gave a little wave and then extended his hand into the limo as Stephanie scooted over in the seat so she could get out, taking the hand that Chris offered her. She stepped out of the limo and was almost blinded by the flashes from the multitude of cameras.

She stood up and then heard yelling saying a variety of things at her. She was only able to pick up some of the yelling, but they were yelling at Chris, asking who the woman with him was. She tried not to look embarrassed as she linked arms with Chris as they walked down the red carpet. He was called out by numerous people along the way on the carpet, and as he wrapped his arm around her waist, he waved to some of the fans waiting around.

"Chris Jericho! Over here! Chris!" came one reporter.

"No, over here!"

Chris pretty much ignored them, as far as talking went, but he did pose for pictures. Stephanie was happy to just let him do that for himself, as they wanted pictures of him alone, but then more yelling started for him to take pictures with Stephanie, and he pulled her towards him as the flashes became more numerous.

"Who's the woman!" someone yelled.

"My girlfriend!" Chris yelled back good-naturedly. This caused even more yelling and Stephanie's eyes widened.

"What's your name!" another person yelled. Stephanie looked to Chris and he shrugged, letting her decide if she wanted to tell everyone who she was.

"Stephanie," she called out, and the chattering began to get even louder as people wrote things down or talked on phones, or whispered to their friends or colleagues. She leaned in towards Chris, "God, they are like vultures."

"Told you," she whispered back.

"How long have you been together!" another person yelled.

"Long enough!" Chris said, starting to have fun with the paparazzi that were still hounding him and Stephanie. It must be a slow night for the gossip department.

"Are you thinking about marriage?"

"Who knows right? Isn't everybody thinking about that at some point," Chris said.

Stephanie laughed and Chris smiled at her and not even for the benefit of the photographers, he kissed her cheek as they continued down the red carpet and into the theater. They were shown to their seats and Stephanie took a look around, impressed by the people she was sitting around. A few people came and said hello to Chris, and then she was impressed with the people that he knew. He didn't really say that he knew so many celebrities, but she was shocked that all these people knew who he was.

"You're so popular," she mused as the lights started to dim.

"Well, did you expect any less?" he asked teasingly.

"Yeah, I did," she said back, to which Chris dropped his jaw. Stephanie laughed softly as the movie began to play.

The movie was actually really good, one of those big budget movies, but it didn't skimp on the quality. She was surprised that Chris's song for the movie was actually slow and seemed to be just him and a guitar. She snuggled against him as the movie wore on, and Chris began rubbing her bare shoulder as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

This was perfect, she felt perfect right now, and she wouldn't change anything. In the back of her mind, she still thought that it was weird, that she had ended up here with Chris of all people, but it just felt so right. She thought about what would have happened if she had been with Chris from the beginning, if there had never been any Hunter in her life. Would she be happy these many years? Maybe, but then she wouldn't have Keagan and Ferris, or at least not them as they were now, and she was glad, because she could appreciate Chris now, and maybe she wouldn't have appreciated him as much if they had started this thing between them a long time ago.

All she knew was that she was happy now, and she didn't want that to change.

A few days later, in a condo not too far away from where Chris and Stephanie had been staying, Shayna was getting the mail and saw the new People Magazine had come in the mail. She happily bounded to her condo and opened the door, letting the cool air rush at her. Hunter was off somewhere, she thought it was the gym, but she couldn't be too sure.

She settled herself against the couch after a long day, and picked up the magazine, intending to peruse it before she would venture for something to eat. She started flipping through it idly, half reading, half wondering where Hunter was, and when he would get back. She was lonely without him. She heard the door open downstairs and smile, setting the magazine down and walking to the doorway.

"Hunter, I'm up here," she called.

Hunter ascended the stairs and kissed Shayna in greeting, "Hey babe, how was work?"

"Same old, same old," she said, brushing it off. "People need therapy, I help them, it's the same thing. But helping people is what I want to do."

"Sounds good, you want to order in tonight, or go out?"

"Hmm," she said, tapping her chin, then smiling, "Order in, I'm too tired to actually change and go out."

"What were you doing when I got here?"

"Reading People," she answered. "Of course, I got bad news."

"Oh no, who broke up now?" he asked good-naturedly.

"No, not a break-up, Chris Jericho, you know the singer, well, apparently he has a new girlfriend, and honey, you know that I love you, but if I ever, ever got the chance with him, well, I'd leave you in the dust," she laughed. "Talk about a hot guy."

Hunter bit his lip. Shayna had never watched wrestling and so she never knew that Chris Jericho was one of his biggest foes. He had been so happy to see Chris leave the company, and even though Chris was so famous now, he still didn't care for the man. He always got on his bad side. Though knowing that his girlfriend would do him was a little unsettling, it wasn't like she had a chance.

"Who's he with? Some model or actress?"

"I don't know," Shayna said. "There was just a picture of him on the cover, and I haven't gotten to the article."

"Well, now I'm curious," he joked, going over to grab the magazine. He flipped through it until he saw a flash of yellow that seemed to be Chris. He flipped to it and dropped the magazine promptly.

_Chris Jericho dates World Wrestling Entertainment heiress, Stephanie McMahon_

"Hunter, what's wrong?" Shayna asked. Hunter was turning a little bit green.

Hunter couldn't believe what he had just seen. There on that page that he had just dropped was a picture of Chris and Stephanie at some sort of premiere. He had his arm wrapped around her waist casually as they both smiled at the camera, leaning in towards each other a little bit. Hunter bit the inside of his mouth as he picked up the magazine again, seeing a smaller picture in the corner. It was in front of some building and Stephanie was kissing Chris deeply, her hands tightly around him. Hunter's eyes drifted to the actual text.

_Of all the things that the premiere for _Everyone Among Us _promised, one of them was not that Chris Jericho, heartthrob extraordinaire, would come with a woman on his arm, much less someone he called his girlfriend. It seems though, that old habits die hard as Jericho goes back to his old occupation to find his new girlfriend, heiress to the billion dollar World Wrestling Entertainment, Stephanie McMahon._

Hunter threw down the magazine again, angrily this time.

"That son of a bitch."


	18. Chapter 18

"Hunter, what's wrong?" Shayna asked, alarmed by the fury she was reading off his face, "I'm sorry that I said I would want him, I was just joking."

"It's not that," Hunter growled angrily.

"Then what is it?"

Hunter picked up the magazine and flung it at Shayna's feet. Shayna didn't know what to do for a moment, but slowly bent down to pick it up. She had never seen Hunter acting quite like this. She had seen him get angry, but never so angry that she was afraid of him like she was at the moment.

She took the magazine and looked down and at first she couldn't understand Hunter's anger. Shayna had only ever seen Stephanie once, and that was when she got caught with Hunter, and she had been so embarrassed that she hadn't exactly studied the features of her boyfriend's ex-wife. So she didn't immediately recognize Stephanie, but after reading a few sentences, she understood perfectly.

"Oh," she said lamely, glancing up at him, and then down at the pictures that he had seen. "How did they…wait Chris Jericho was a wrestler wasn't he?"

"The thorn in my side for years!"

"Oh," she said again, not knowing what else to say. She hadn't ever really bothered to discuss Hunter's past in the wrestling business. That was intrinsically tied with Stephanie, and they didn't bring her up too much. Shayna at least had the decency to feel remorse for what had happened.

"I knew he wanted her! God, what the hell is she thinking!"

"Hunter, you're divorced," she reasoned. She tried not to be too hurt by his outburst. After all, he had left Stephanie for her, not the other way around.

"But she has my kids! That bastard is hanging around my kids!"

"Hunter, he seems like an ok man, I wouldn't worry about Keagan and Ferris."

"They don't want to talk to me! God, I should've known he'd try to turn my kids against me! He's turning my kids against me!"

"I'm sure it's not like that. I mean, you've said that Ferris is smart. Maybe she just misses you and this is her way of trying to get you to come home and see them. I know that we've been busy with just settling our lives out here, but I'm sure that she's just trying to get you to go home and see her."

"Do you really think that?" Hunter asked, looking up. Ferris was very smart, every time he spoke to her he could see that, hear it in her voice that she knew way more than she ever let on. Maybe this was her way of wanting him to come home. Maybe this was all a plan by her to get him to come and see her.

"Well, you've said how smart she is, maybe this is her being smart about it." It wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

"Maybe I should call her?" Hunter asked hopefully.

"Go for it," Shayna said with a smile, glad that he had calmed down and didn't look like he was going to put a hole through the wall with his fist.

Across the country, Stephanie and Chris were in her backyard, enjoying the waning light. They had arrived home earlier that day and picked up the girls from Stephanie's parents. It was such a beautiful and warm evening, rare for this time of year that they were outside having a barbeque and just catching up with one another. Keagan and Ferris were playing on the playground set up in the backyard while Chris and Stephanie were crushed together on one deck lounger.

"Mommy, watch!" Keagan yelled as she swung back and forth on the swings. "I'm swinging high!"

"I see Keags," Stephanie called out. "So how tired are you right now?"

"Nah, I'm used to the jet lag, don't tell me that you've grown out of being accustomed to it. I don't see how that's even possible with how much we used to travel around."

"A little," Stephanie said, "But you have to remember, you still travel."

"You do too…occasionally," he pointed out.

"But not as much as I used to, I just needed to settle down, but now, I think that I'm in a better place. I'm going to talk with my mom about watching the girls on Mondays so that way I can just fly to wherever the show is, and then catch the red-eye back home so that I'm with the girls, and as long as its for one day a week, and I only have an on-air presence, I think I can work it out," Stephanie explained.

"And I would come too of course."

"Well since you said yes to my father, and he's not going to get off your back until you agree, yeah, you're going to be there with me. I don't know what you're going to do."

"You'll find something for me to do," Chris said. "I trust you not to put me in something stupid. Hint, hint."

"Point duly noted," Stephanie laughed then looked over at Keagan and Ferris as they played together. "The girls were almost happier to see you than they were to see me."

"I don't know about that…and if they did, it was only because I was holding the presents that we got them."

"True," Stephanie said, but was then interrupted by the ringing of the phone. She groaned audibly. She was so comfortable with Chris, and they were going to start cooking soon, and they had to be interrupted by the shrill cry of the telephone. She looked at Chris and rolled her eyes. "Should I even get that?"

"No, let your machine pick it up."

"Mommy, I'll get the phone," Ferris yelled from the bottom of the slide.

"Ok, but remember to ask who it is first, and…wait, you know how to answer the phone, go for it sweetie."

Ferris ran inside and to the phone that was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. She reached up and grabbed it and pushed the button, saying, "Hello?"

"Ferris!"

Ferris recognized the voice and she scowled. She was having such a good time and now her father had to call. She was still upset with him, and didn't feel like talking to him. He always chose the exact wrong time to call, and this was that time. Why didn't he just visit her before so that she wouldn't be so mad at him?

"Hi Daddy," Ferris said flatly, her voice emotionless.

Hunter picked up on that immediately and tried to brighten up the conversation, "I missed you and I really wanted to talk to you."

"Daddy, I'm busy, I don't feel like talking," Ferris answered him. She just wanted to go back outside and play with Keagan and tell her mommy and Chris all the fun things they did with Grandpa Vince, like going to the zoo.

"But Fer, I haven't gotten to talk to you in a long time."

"I told you that I didn't want to talk to you anymore," Ferris said, her voice rising a little.

"I know, but if that's what someone is telling you to do, you don't have to listen to them," Hunter said, trying to extract information from his eldest daughter. He wanted to believe that Chris was behind this, that he really was sabotaging his kids into hating him. So many times, Hunter had beaten Chris, humiliated him, but now it was like Chris was taking away some of the most important things to him.

"Nobody is telling me," Ferris answered. "I told Mommy that I didn't, and Mommy said I didn't have to."

"But Fer, you don't have to listen to Mommy. I WANT to talk to you."

"But I don't want to talk to you!" Ferris yelled. "I don't!"

Stephanie could hear Ferris yelling from outside and she looked to Chris with trepidation. Ferris would only get that angry at one person. Chris leaned over to kiss her softly, offering her support. She squeezed his arm and got up off the chair while Chris went over to see what Keagan was up to, and hope that she didn't hear her sister. Stephanie walked inside the house and saw Ferris standing there.

She walked in front of her and kneeled, "Hey Fer, who's on the phone?"

"Daddy," Ferris answered.

"Ok, are you sure that you want to talk to him?" Stephanie asked gently. She brushed some of Ferris's hair out her face, her hair coming loose from her ponytail while she was playing. She could see the sadness in her daughter's eyes and it broke her hear in two. When would this hurting end? Did she completely have to break her life and her daughter's lives off from Hunter to get some semblance of normal?

"No," Ferris said quietly, thrusting the phone forward and into Stephanie's hand. Stephanie smiled and kissed Ferris's cheek, letting her know that she would always be here, no matter what.

"Ok, why don't you go outside and play with Chris and Keagan, and I'll take care of Daddy, ok?"

"Ok Mommy, thank you," Ferris said politely before running into the backyard and straight into Chris's arms. "That was Daddy."

"Really, did he want to talk to you?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to talk to him," Ferris said.

Stephanie looked down at the phone with a sigh. This was going to be another fight, she just knew it. It always erupted in a fight with Hunter. She wondered if he knew about her and Chris. Stephanie had laughed when she had seen her picture on all these magazines this morning and yesterday, and she could only imagine it getting worse. Hunter would have to be living under a rock to never notice.

"Hello?" she finally said into the phone.

"Where's my daughter?" Hunter asked angrily.

"She's outside playing. She didn't want to talk to you, so don't make her Hunter. If she wants to talk to you, believe me, she'll tell me."

"She's my daughter, I have every right to talk to her."

"I know that you do, and that's fine, you do have the right, but Ferris is a smart girl and if she says that she doesn't, what do you want me to do Hunter? Do you want me to force her to speak to you? Do you want me to tell her she's bad because she thinks that you don't care about her?"

"Of course I care about her!"

"We go over this time and time again Hunter, and you don't' seem to get it. She's hurt, and she's feeling neglected, and her only way of feeling better is cutting you off like you've cut her off. Let her have some space for God's sakes!" Stephanie tried to keep her voice down so it wouldn't arise suspicion from Chris and the girls, but it was becoming difficult as Hunter became more irate.

"This isn't about her at all is it? It's about that new boyfriend of yours," Hunter said with a bad attitude.

"Hunter, this has nothing to do with Chris, but if you want to know something, here, I'll tell you. He's around Hunter, he's around here, and that's what they need, someone around them who wants to be!"

"I don't want him around my daughters at all!"

"You have no say in that Hunter. I've never once said that Shayna could not be around them, if you ever bothered to visit them. I don't' see why anything should be different with Chris. He's my boyfriend Hunter."

"Why the hell would you want to date him!"

"Why the hell would I want to marry you?" Stephanie questioned. "Chris is my boyfriend, deal with it because he's going to be here for a while, which is more than I can say for you. And you don't even get a say Hunter, you don't, because you abandoned Ferris and Keagan, and you can't stand that you've been replaced."

"I'm there father, don't you forget that Stephanie," Hunter said, his voice low.

"You never act like one so I tend to forget. Chris is here, Chris picks them up from school, Chris makes them lunch, Chris takes them where they want to go, what do you do Hunter? You call when you feel like it, and that's not being a father."

"He will never be their father, no matter how hard you wish it."

"I know that, they know that, but we know when we've got a good thing going. So just leave us alone Hunter, you never call anyways, your daughters don't want to talk to you, and neither do I, so just stay away. If Keagan and Ferris want to talk to you, they are welcome to, and I've never shut the door on you when it comes to them, but you've never bothered to use it, and that's your fault not mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make dinner, goodbye."

Stephanie hung up the phone and fought the urge to slam it down on the counter in anger. She was seething because of Hunter. He was so oblivious to the situation, and as to how he could rectify it. She just go so angry when it came to him; sometimes she just wanted to cry because she never thought it would be this way. She loved Hunter so much, she gave him everything, her love, she gave him children, and happiness, and he threw that away after she had tried so hard to give him everything he wanted.

She felt Chris's arms wrap around her waist from behind, hugging her to him. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, tilting her head a little to drop a kiss to his cheek. He didn't say anything, just letting the silence overwhelm them. She closed her eyes and she could feel the wet sting of tears seep through her closed eyelids. She was so tired of being brave, of putting the fire out in every situation, of trying to help the girls cope with their absent father.

"It'll be ok," Chris whispered.

"No it won't," she answered, opening her teary eyes. "I loved him so much Chris, I loved him, and he did this to me, this is his fault."

"Shh," he said, rubbing her arms up and down, soothing her. "Don't worry about him, he's the jerk who left you, and he didn't ruin you. You are still the same Stephanie McMahon that I knew before, and you have only gotten better in the time we spent apart. Hunter did not do anything to you."

"Maybe I'm screwed up, maybe you should just leave me because I'm bound to screw up again and I'll just drive you into the arms of another woman."

"Nope, don't believe that for a second," he told her, coming around to stand in front of her and touch his forehead with hers. "You didn't screw up, he did. You're still here, you didn't run away. I think that shows how great you are."

"I am screwed up though, I really am."

"Not anymore than I am, or anyone else."

"I'm sorry that I burden you with this."

"You have to get over a marriage, that's gotta be tough, and I'm not going to be a guy who won't let you talk about your first husband ever. He hurt you, you have to get over that, but I'm willing to wait."

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"I adore you."

"Well, yeah, I know…same goes for you."


	19. Chapter 19

"You doing ok?"

"I guess," Stephanie answered softly.

Chris walked up to her as she sat on the couch in the girl's playroom. The lights were off and Stephanie was sitting in the dark by herself. She had put the girls to bed hours ago and had told Chris she needed some time alone and so he had given it to her, but he was wondering how she was.

"I guess I'll just leave you alone," Chris said dejectedly. He had said that he was ok with her having to get over her marriage and for the most part he was, but he was still hurt that she didn't see that he was right in front of her, wanting to help her.

"No, stay," Stephanie told him, opening her arms. Chris smiled and joined her on the couch. She wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head against him.

"So what are you thinking about?"

"Mainly about the girls," Stephanie said. "You know, when they were babies, Hunter would dote over them like nothing else mattered and I'm scared the girls got used to it and that's why they're so angry at Hunter."

"Ferris is smart Steph," Chris told her. "Even if that were true, she knows what's going on. She knows exactly the kind of person that Hunter has been."

"You're right, I mean she's skipping a grade," Stephanie said with a sad laugh. "She's so smart and so…amazing, and Hunter isn't even here to say, 'hey congratulations Fer, you're so smart,' and it tears me up inside. I can't stop thinking about it. I try and I try and it just all comes back to them, and I just can't move forward."

"I don't think that's true," Chris said, stroking her back slowly and comfortingly. "You took a big step when you came after me. I don't think that's staying in one place, I think that's definitely moving forward."

"That's true," Stephanie said. "That was a huge step for me."

"It was," Chris agreed. "Would it make you feel better if I set up a major interview where you can spend an hour just bashing your ex-husband? I could make it happen in a flash."

"I love that you would be willing to do that for me," Stephanie laughed, much more fully now than before. "That would be funny though, I'd love to see Hunter's face after that. It would probably fall off or something."

"That would be something to behold," he said with a chuckle. "You feeling better now?"

"Slightly," Stephanie replied. "I'm still just worried about the girls, Ferris especially. She's old enough and smart enough to know what's going on and I think it's taking its toll on her. I don't want to have two embittered little girls who have to go to therapy when they're older because their deadbeat dad didn't pay attention to them."

"I hardly think they're on that path," Chris told her. "You do such a good job with them."

"Then why do I second-guess myself all the time, why do I feel like a failure."

"Hey," Chris said, firmly, pulling away from her to stare her in the eyes. "You are NOT a failure. You are a wonderful mother raising two wonderful girls, all of whom I love to be with. I've become used to the three of you, and I cannot imagine wanting to spend my time with any other girls."

"You have a way with words Mr. Jericho," Stephanie said, smiling now. Chris had made her feel better, and not like the failure that she sometimes thought she was. It was hard to face down these fears that she had, when they seemed to stare her down all the time.

"Comes from all the songwriting that I do."

"Well I guess that's another talent you have," Stephanie told him. "You know, you really don't have to appease me all the time, if it bothers you that I talk about Hunter, you can tell me, I won't hate you because it bothers you."

"It doesn't," Chris told her truthfully. "If I didn't know Trips personally, then maybe I'd wonder, but I know the man, I know just how much of an ass he can be, and you know, I don't really blame you for thinking what you think."

"Sometimes I forget that you know him," Stephanie told him. "I guess that makes it easier on me."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Did you ever meet his girlfriend, I mean, besides when you caught him with her?"

"No, actually," Stephanie answered. "I don't think I'd want to because I'm afraid that she won't be a bad person, and that would be worse than thinking she was a whore. Because she could be a really great person who made a huge mistake and she knows it, and that's a harder pill to swallow."

"I shouldn't have asked," Chris said, taking her in his arms a little firmer. Stephanie let him and kissed his neck softly.

"You can ask me anything," Stephanie said. "We're in a relationship now, you should be able to ask me whatever you want. I hope I can do the same."

"You can."

"Ok, then let's get one thing squared away right now," Stephanie said seriously, pulling away from him to look him in the eyes. This way he wouldn't be able to lie to her, and if he did, she would be able to tell. It was one of her Mom skills, she had a honing ability now, one that could pick out lies.

"What's that?"

"How long have you liked me? You've made it sound like it was for so long, and you wrote a song about me, one that people listen to all the time, and I'm just wondering, how long have you felt something for me?"

"I'm really glad that it's somewhat dark in here," Chris said sheepishly, feeling his cheeks go red with embarrassment.

"Why?"

"Because I'm really feeling stupid right now. I know this is going to be stupid, I know that, but I've liked you for over ten years."

"Chris! That's sad," Stephanie said, giving him a laugh. It wasn't a laugh at him, but it was a laugh with him because she just couldn't believe he had sat on his ass and done nothing for so long.

"I told you!" he said to her. "It wasn't like I couldn't live without you. I COULD live without you Steph, I did it for a long time--"

"Well now I'm starting to feel insignificant," Stephanie said with a pout.

"So now you want me to say that I've been pining for you for over ten years."

"It wouldn't hurt," Stephanie said.

"I've been pining for you for over ten years," Chris told her in a monotone voice.

"Better."

"You were with Hunter this entire time. There was no chance with you, so why would I have even pined away for you. I understood the situation and there was no way that I was going to go after a married woman, and then you had Ferris and what was I supposed to do? Seduce you and steal Hunter's kid away from him? No way."

"I wish you would've, looking back now," Stephanie said. "Could've saved me a lot of trouble."

"But then you wouldn't have had Keagan, and however horrible Hunter was, I don't think that you would trade her in for anything," Chris pointed out correctly.

"Yeah, there's no way that I would trade her in for anything," Stephanie repeated. "I just wish that things had been different back then you know, that maybe I could've had the foresight to see this happening. Did you ever hear about Hunter cheating on me then? Maybe I was too stupid to see that this has been going on for a long time."

"We weren't exactly on the best terms," Chris said. "I don't think Hunter would exactly confide in me."

"You're right, he hated you, probably still does, probably hates you more now than he ever has, and for that I think that I have to thank you because that is such a nice thought. Not only do I love being with you, I also get the dual benefit of having Hunter hate the entire situation and that's just great," Stephanie said, thinking it over.

"Well, I'm glad that I could give you two benefits, and the sentiment is the same on the loving to be with you part."

"So why are you going to buy a house up here then, we want you to stay here," Stephanie told him.

"So we've been dating not even six months and you want to be living together?" Chris asked.

"You still have your house in Florida, it's not like we're officially living together although I could always clear out some more closet space for you."

"Are you sure you want me to have that much closet space, you know that's a huge step in our relationship."

"Well I could just give you the other closet, but I've been using that as a storage space and an altar to burning everything I've ever had that reminds me of Hunter, but if you want it, I think I can move it to another spot in the house."

"No, I wouldn't want you to do that, burn all you want," Chris said. "I guess it would be better if I actually moved my clothes out of my suitcase and into your closet."

"I think it would be for the best too," Stephanie answered, kissing him. He made the kiss deeper, pulling her into his lap as she settled her arms around him. She played with his hair as he sought the inside of her mouth with his tongue. She welcomed him and their tongues dueled with each other as the phone rang.

"Do you want me to get that?" Chris asked as he pulled away.

"No, it's probably my mom or something," Stephanie told him, getting off his lap. "Don't get too antsy, I will be back and we will resume what we were doing."

"Maybe we should move it somewhere where the girls don't spend a majority of their time," Chris said. "It might creep me out if I'm trying to get intimate with you and then I see Keagan's Barbie or something."

Stephanie giggled, "Ok, then come with me."

She grabbed him by the hand and walked into the kitchen to grab the phone. She felt Chris wrap his arms around her from behind and kiss her neck, starting near her jaw and working his way down to her collarbone. She moaned a little before actually looking down at the phone.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, is that you?"

"Yes it is, may I ask who's calling?" Stephanie asked, not recognizing the voice immediately.

"It's Patricia."

"Oh, oh…" Stephanie said, her words trailing off. She hadn't spoken to Patricia since the divorce had been finalized with Hunter, and she didn't really see any need to after that. Her and Patricia had gotten along well enough, but they hadn't been very close.

"Who is it?" Chris whispered into her free ear.

Stephanie covered the mouthpiece momentarily to answer him, "Hunter's mother."

"Oh," Chris said, mimicking Stephanie's earlier response.

"I wonder what she wants."

"Well find out," Chris said, pointing to the phone.

"Oh yeah!" Stephanie said quickly. "Hi Patricia, I'm sorry, someone is here, um, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I just realized that I haven't seen my granddaughters in a very, very long time, and well, we were in Connecticut visiting some of Paul's relatives and were wondering if it would be alright to drop by and see them."

"Oh, um, can you hang on a second?"

"Of course."

Stephanie put the phone down and turned in Chris's arms. He could see that she was thinking, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out by the way her lips were pursed. She sighed quickly and Chris thought she was going to speak, but she didn't. He tried to coax it out of her with a kiss, but she wasn't as into it as he would've hoped.

"Tell me."

"Well, Patricia, that's her name--"

"I gathered that," Chris said.

"Well, she and her husband want to come over and see the girls because apparently they're in town from New Hampshire. But I mean, the timing of this is so odd. Hunter called earlier spouting off about how he doesn't want Keagan and Ferris around you."

"He said that?" Chris said, and he refused to be hurt, but he was.

"Don't listen to him," Stephanie told him, shaking her head. "He's just trying to get under my skin, the girls adore you, you know that, don't listen to him."

"Ok," Chris said. "Go on."

"Ok, so why would she call all of a sudden. What if she's in cahoots with Hunter and if I let them go see them, he's there, and then he does something crazy like take them!"

"Ok, calm down Steph, you could always supervise a visit."

"Oh yeah, I can do that," Stephanie said, then leaned up to kiss him. "You're the best."

"So I've been told many, many times," he said cockily.

"But it means the most from me, right?" she said coyly, twirling a piece of his hair around her finger and tugging him towards her to lavish him with a slow, deep kiss. He wanted to let it go longer, but he was still aware that she was on the phone.

"Phone," he mumbled.

"Oops, I tend to get forgetful when I'm around you," Stephanie told him, raising her eyebrows playfully. She went for the phone, but Chris pulled her back for one last, lingering kiss. She kissed the corner of his mouth before bringing the phone back up to her ear.

"Well Patricia, Keagan and Ferris both are in school as you know, but I could come by wherever you're staying after school and we can go do something together. If that seems fine with you."

"It does, thank you Stephanie, how does two days from now sound?"

"Sounds good."

"Ok, we're staying at the Sheraton, we can meet you in the lobby?"

"Fine, bye."

"Bye Stephanie."

Stephanie hung up. "She agreed to it, but I still think that something is up. What if Hunter told her something about me or about us and now she's worried and she's spying on me for him."

"Well, you'll soon find out won't you?"


	20. Chapter 20

"I can come if you need the moral support."

"I don't, but thanks anyways," Stephanie told him, patting his cheek softly. "It's really nice that you want to be there for me, and I appreciate it, but I think it would make her pretty uncomfortable, I was married to her son after all."

"Yeah, but does she know the circumstances under which you got divorced?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, she knows," Stephanie said. "I mean, it just got out there. I'm surprised it didn't travel down the company and somehow reach you."

"I had heard you had gotten divorced actually," Chris admitted. He had heard it from Christian, just something that he had passed along one day. Chris had done nothing with the information at the time, but he had at least known on some level that she and Hunter were no longer together.

"Oh, well, yeah, it happened, whatever, I'm over it," Stephanie said, then smiled brightly at him, "I have you now. And it's better."

Chris smiled at that. It definitely made him feel good to know that Stephanie regarded him so highly. He didn't want to be presumptuous, but he felt like Stephanie was falling in love with him, and it made him feel good. He had never had this before, and it was just a new experience for him. Not the falling in love part, he had been in love before, but rather the family part. Chris had never had a family, and this was like…his very own family. And it was exciting and scary and fulfilling all at the same time.

"I'm glad I'm better."

"You don't need me to tell you that. So I was thinking…"

"About what?" he said teasingly. "About how much you want to skip seeing your ex-mother-in-law and just want to stay here with me and let me show you a good time?"

"No, I was thinking that we could go down to Florida this weekend and maybe you could get some more of your clothes and maybe, MAYBE bring them up here."

"Are you asking me to move in with you on a permanent basis?" Chris asked, trying to figure out what she was saying. She was looking at him sheepishly and he didn't want to dare think that she was actually asking him to move in with her. They had been moving pretty quickly in this relationship as it was, probably because they knew each other so well there wasn't a huge amount of "getting to know you" time, because they knew so much about each other as it was, but moving in together.

"If you think that it's too fast, I'll live with that," Stephanie said, which pretty much gave him affirmation to his question. "It's just…you're living here already aren't you?"

He had never thought of it that way, but it was true. But how much of that was because he wanted to live here as opposed to the fact that he had nowhere else to stay. But that wasn't really a valid argument in the first place. Chris had more than enough money to buy any house he wanted, or he could stay in a penthouse in a hotel or something in the area. He didn't HAVE to live at Stephanie's and yet, this was where he found himself, after more than a month of staying with her.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said, chuckling lowly. "But are you sure you want to make this more permanent?"

He didn't want to rush her into anything, even though this was her idea in the first place. Stephanie could be tentative with him, he knew, and he didn't want her thinking that this was something that she had to do in order to keep him. He didn't even know how this had turned into such a serious conversation in so short a time.

"Well, I asked," she answered with a smile. She wouldn't have asked him if she wasn't sure about it.

"Yeah, but this isn't like asking me what I want for dinner, or if I want to go out or something, this is asking me to move in with you, to make this my residence."

"Yeah, it is, and I asked because you're already living here and I don't want you to think of yourself as being a guest, I'd rather you think of yourself as…well, like this is your home."

Chris realized how important this was for Stephanie and how big a step this was for her. She was opening up her home to him and letting him in. He loved the gesture and it was one of the very first things that let Chris know how much she had invested in this relationship. He had never been with someone like Stephanie. With all the actresses and models he had dated, they had lived separate lives, which only came together if they were in the same city, but this was different, this felt more real.

"Steph, I would love to move in, it's just…" There was one concern Chris had, and it did weigh on his mind a little bit, had tugged at his brain, not much, but enough that he wanted to tell her.

"What? You can tell me," Stephanie urged him to say.

"I just…well this was Hunter's house too, and you know…"

"Oh," Stephanie said, realizing what he meant. "You don't want to live here because this was the home that I shared with Hunter?"

"I didn't mean that," Chris was quick to correct her. "I just, I'm reminded of it sometimes, and I'm not asking you to move or anything silly like that, I was just voicing my concern, I mean, I'm allowed to do that right?"

"You're allowed," Stephanie said, leaning across the couch they were sitting on to kiss him. "It's a valid concern. I know that if you were married and I suddenly lived with you, I might think that whoa, this was where you and your wife were."

"Ok, so you get it then," he stated.

"I get it. You know, this house is a little small…"

"Steph, no, I don't want you to move out because of me."

"But hey, if you agreed to live with me, which I think I gathered in there somewhere…"

"You did, I did agree," Chris nodded.

Stephanie had to grin at that. She had not made a fool out of herself, he had said yes to her proposition. She had really gone out on a limb there, putting herself out there for rejection. She had valid reasons to think that Chris would turn her down, but like so many times before, Chris surprised her, and she was starting to love that about him.

"Well, if we're thinking…long-term here," she put the phrase out there cautiously. "Then maybe a move wouldn't be such a bad idea. I mean, this house is good enough for the four of us, but might not be in the…long-run."

Chris was taken aback by what she was implying, but didn't question her further because this might be a discussion for a later time. The long-term part was fine, but she was also implying that at some point and time there would be more than just the four of them. He was shocked that she had thought that far ahead. He had thought that far ahead, but it was more in passing because he didn't think that Stephanie had even begun to think such thoughts.

"I don't want to put you out," he said lamely realizing the conversation was going places that it really didn't have any business going.

"Well, maybe we can look around a little, somewhere in the area," Stephanie said. "Of course we'd have to think of what Keagan and Ferris would think about this, but I think if we talk to them and let them know and include them, they probably wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't think, and if they do, well, we can wait or something, and now I'm totally rambling and I have no idea what I'm even saying, and I'm embarrassed."

"Hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, I think it's a great idea. I like the idea of having our own place, and it'll probably take a while to find a new place and sell this one, so you know, it'll give time for the three of you to adjust."

"You're perfect, you know that," Stephanie gushed, practically falling on top of him in a tight hug. "You have no idea how glad I am that you came back into my life."

"I have some inkling," Chris laughed, hugging her back. "Now back on the real course of this conversation, are you sure that you don't want me to come with you to pick up the girls and go see their grandparents?"

"I'm sure," Stephanie said, pulling away, but only slightly so that her face was still inches away from Chris. "You know, they might just have good intentions with this. I know that they were disappointed in Hunter when they found out what happened, but you know, he is their son, so they're going to love him regardless. But that doesn't matter, because I have you, and what they think is non-existent to me."

"Sounds good, I just don't want you to have to deal with anything by yourself," he told her.

"And that is very sweet of you, but I am an adult, with kids."

"I know that," he told her, kissing her playfully. "But even adults need help sometimes. Like when someone lost their daughter at DisneyWorld."

"God, don't remind me about that, I'm still upset that I left her alone even for one second. I mean, she knows better!"

"Ok, I'm sorry I brought it up," Chris said, seeing that Stephanie was starting to stress out. "She was fine, she even coerced me into getting her a candy apple. She's persuasive, like her mother."

"Actually I think she gets that from Hunter," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. "God could he persuade me to do anything and everything. I think that's definitely where she gets it from. She's the one that looks most like him too."

"Yeah, Ferris looks more like you."

"So should I go?"

"If you want," Chris told her. "Either way, you're going to have to pick up the girls from school."

"Yeah, I'll keep our little discussion a secret though. I think that we should both tell them about that. Can I make a little confession?"

"I'm all ears."

"I didn't really like staying here right after I found Hunter upstairs. I bought a new bed and anything. So I'm in no way attached to the house. It has good memories, but honestly, it has really bad ones too."

"So that's why you're so receptive to it, it'll give you an excuse?"

"Partly I guess," Stephanie shrugged. "At least with a new house comes a new start. Something that I won't have to worry will hold any bad memories for me."

"Then maybe this moving thing is a good idea, if it'll be mutually beneficial."

"Yeah," she smiled, looking off in the distance and nodding, "I think it would be a nice change. Ok, now I REALLY have to go and pick up the girls, what are you going to do in the mean time?"

"I think I'm going to sneak off to the store, trying not to be seen by anybody and buy something to cook and then I'll cook dinner since you'll be out and you'll probably not want to be stressed by dinner when you come back."

"Oh, look who's getting all domesticated and everything. Cooking dinner and all that."

"This isn't a new occurrence and yet every time I say that I'm going to cook, you always start with the fact that I'm cooking like it's so unusual. Did you forget that I lived by myself for a really long time and so I kind of had to cook if I wanted to you know, eat?"

"I'm surprised that you didn't hire your own chef, you have the money for it."

"Do your parents have a personal chef, because I think that they have more money than I do?"

"No, but I think they might have when we were little, I don't really remember, but they don't now, but I'm just saying that a lot of people do."

"I'm not a lot of people," Chris said, going for the obvious joke. "Why are you constantly thinking that I sit on a throne all day and have servants doing whatever I want?"

"Because I just do!" she said playfully, shoving him a little bit. "I don't know why. I'm still getting used to the idea that you're a really huge rock star beloved the world over. To me you're just…well your Chris Jericho."

"Well, that IS my name."

"You know what I mean!" she said, again shoving him. "I meant that you know, you're the guy that was with the company, the wrestler, you know, not this rock legend or whatever you are."

"I'm still that guy," Chris explained. "But I do have a maid that comes in to my house, and Christian is feeding my fish, so I guess I do have some perks."

Stephanie laughed and kissed him again, but it was brief and chaste. "Ok, now I'm really running late and it's all your fault, damn rock stars with their rock music that they play too loud."

"Ok Mom."

"I'm not your mom," Stephanie said, trying to sound stern. She got up and off of Chris, leaving him on the couch as she grabbed her purse and keys and headed for her car. She drove down to the girl's school to wait for them, trying to ignore all the whispers about her like usual.

Ever since the numerous tabloid articles on Chris and her, she had been getting looks from the other parents at the school in which her daughters attended. It was just a little bit obtrusive having you kissing your boyfriend on the front page of every major celebrity magazine, and she didn't know quite how to deal with it.

She was thankful for Keagan and Ferris as they came rushing out of the school. They ran up to Stephanie and she hugged them individually before ushering them to the car. She helped Keagan strap in before she got in the front seat to go meet with Patricia and Paul. She took a deep breath and then turned to the girls with a bright and cheery smile.

"So are you ready to go see Grandma Pat and Grandpa Paul?"

"Uh huh," Keagan nodded. "I made them a drawing in school today so that they can look at it when they go home."

"That's very nice of you Keags."

"I know," she said, causing Stephanie to laugh. "And tomorrow, guess what Mommy?"

"I don't know."

"We get to make things with clay and I'm going to make something for Chris."

"Aww, I don't get anything?" Stephanie asked, pretending to pout.

"You can share," Keagan answered.

Stephanie pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the hotel that Hunter's parents were staying. She pulled into an available spot and helped the girls out and into the hotel. She spotted her former in-laws and walked over to them, waving and trying to look at cheerful and friendly as she could.

"Stephanie, hello," Patricia said, then bent down to hug the girls. "How are you two? I've missed you."

"I'm fine!" Keagan said, her voice raising. "And I made you a picture for you to take when you want to go home."

"Thank you sweetie," Patricia told her, taking the picture. Paul was there as well and got in a few hugs from the girls. It seemed to Stephanie that they were happy to see them.

"How about I take you two girls to get some cookies, would that be ok Stephanie?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, they usually have an after-school snack," Stephanie answered. She watched Paul go off with the girl, the two of them babbling away while he nodded.

"How are you dear?" Patricia asked kindly.

"I'm fine Pat," Stephanie said. "I'm actually doing really, really well."

"I've seen you in quite a few papers and what not," Patricia said, motioning for them to sit down on one of the couches in the lobby. Stephanie sat down slowly, knowing that she would be in for a lecture or something. She turned slightly to face Patricia.

"Yeah, well, what can you do you know," Stephanie said casually, trying to sound like she didn't care what she was told and that was true. She loved being with Chris, she might even be IN love with Chris, and it was nobody's business but her own and her daughters.

"Yeah, my son called me to rant and rave about it, knowing that I was coming to see you."

"Patricia, I don't care what Hunter thinks and as far as I'm concerned--"

"I think that he's wrong," Patricia said firmly. "Paul agrees with me on this and we feel like he's out of line. I know that I haven't called and seen them in a while, but I was just afraid that you would project your anger at Hunter at us when we don't condone what he did."

"I never thought that, but he is your son."

"I know, and I love him, but he has not made some good choices in his life thus far. I take it that he's not around the girls much."

"More like not at all," Stephanie admitted, feeling like this was not going the way she thought it was going to go.

"I thought so, and I know that apologizing on his behalf is unnecessary, but I did not raise my son to be this way, and I'm sorry from me and Paul that this turned out the way it did. I'm glad that you seem to be happy and I'm glad that you've found someone. And if he treats the girls well, then you hang onto this someone, despite what Hunter says."

"I came here thinking you would be on Hunter's side," Stephanie admitted, deeply shocked. "I never thought you would say this."

"Well, I just want you to know that when it comes down to it, I'm on your side Stephanie."

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means, but…thank you."

"No, thank you for taking good care of my granddaughters and if my son fails to see that, then I say his loss."

"Wow, I just…I wasn't expecting this at all."

"Well now you know," Patricia said and Stephanie could tell she was being honest. She was glad that she had more people on her side. Hunter was irrational and had no business butting into a life that he gave up.

But somehow, Stephanie didn't think that would stop him.


	21. Chapter 21

"I was shocked Mom, I really thought that this was some plan that she had come up with, with Hunter, but she was totally sincere. I mean, I thought with Hunter being her son that she would, you know, side with him."

"Well sweetie, it's not like someone can ignore the fact that he hasn't been there for Ferris or Keagan. Even she had to see that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I mean, I think everyone sees that except for Hunter," Stephanie answered as she talked to her mother on the phone. "But I'm just glad that's over with, and onto better news, Chris and I have decided to move in together."

"Isn't he already living with you?" Linda asked.

"Well…yeah, but this is official, and we're thinking about moving."

"What! You and the girls are going to move away from us!" Linda asked in alarm. She loved the fact that the girls were close by so that they could visit often. She loved being a grandma to them, spoiling them and taking them places.

"No Mom, we're moving close by, Chris and I just both feel like we want a fresh start. I've been so rude and not even asked him how he felt living in the same house that I live in with Hunter, and you know, I've never been crazy about staying here after…you know," Stephanie said with trepidation. "We just think it would be good."

"You're moving awfully fast with Chris?" Linda pointed out, just wanting to make sure that her daughter understood that they were moving quickly in this relationship. Not that she didn't think that was a good thing, because she really liked Chris and had seen first-hand how happy he made her daughter and she couldn't ask for anything more.

"You could say that," Stephanie said. "But if you look at it a different way, it's not so fast. I mean, we knew each other for so long, I feel like…like I've been with him for so long. And he has liked me for so long Mom, did you know that he wrote a song for me?"

"He did?"

"Yeah, years ago, and I mean, he's liked me for so long and I don't want to lose that, and I'm really liking where I am right now."

"Well as long as you and the girls are happy, then I'm going to support whatever you decide to do. And don't get me wrong sweetie, I really like Chris, I just wanted to make sure that you weren't pushing yourself into healing."

"I don't even mind Hunter anymore Mom, I would cut him out of my life completely if he wasn't the father of my children. Unfortunately that mean he's going to be in my life forever, but I think I'm completely over it," Stephanie said with excitement. "I think I may…I think I might be falling in love with him…no, I am falling in love with him."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so happy for you," Linda said genuinely, picturing the smile on her daughter's face. "I'm so happy that you've been able to move on."

"So am I Mom, I really am happy, I didn't think that I could be this happy again, not after I caught Hunter cheating on me, but I mean, I guess things work out, or at least they're starting to," Stephanie said. "I don't know, it's like, it's different this time."

"Well, Chris is a different man," Linda pointed out. "It wasn't going to be the same."

"It almost makes me wish that I had found Chris first," Stephanie said wistfully.

"Where is he right now?" Linda asked.

"Oh, Ferris wanted to go to the library and get some books to read, and so he took her and Keagan to the library and then Keagan wanted to go to the park, so after the library they're going to stop by the park."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, he wanted to take them out, and give me some time off," Stephanie explained. "But he likes spending time with the girls and they love spending time with Chris. I think that we're going to bring up the subject of moving with them tonight. Better sooner rather than later."

"That's probably good."

The doorbell rang then and Stephanie stood up from the stool she had been sitting on in the kitchen. She wasn't expecting anyone right now, although she had ordered some stuff from the internet, but she wasn't expecting that for a couple of days. Or did she order that stuff overnight? She forgot now because Chris had been distracting her while she was ordering the clothes. Maybe it was Chris, maybe he had forgotten his key or something.

"Someone's at the door Mom, so I'm going to let you go now," Stephanie said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, say hello to the girls for me, bye," Linda said before hanging up.

Stephanie put the phone down and stood up. She was in a pair of Chris's sweatpants and she had to pull them up because they were drooping below her waist line. She rolled them up until they fit and adjusted her hair a little. Even when she was getting a package she had to look at least presentable. She laughed to herself as she walked to the front door and opened it.

It was Hunter.

She groaned as she saw him for the first time in a long time. He looked pretty much the same, only with a few differences here and there. His hair was a little bit shorter and it was lighter she noticed. He was also looking more tan that she remembered, but she figured that was because he was living out in California now, and if you lived there, you had to have a tan. He was in a suit and she wondered where he had just come from.

"You know, I could've written out every single person in the world before I thought you would show up at my door," Stephanie said, leaning against the doorway. "What do you want?"

"I was here wrapping up some financial issues, and I thought I'd drop by."

"Unannounced?" Stephanie asked.

"Do I have to announce my arrival, or can I just come by and see my kids?"

"Well you haven't seen them in so long I wasn't up-to-date on my seeing the children etiquette," Stephanie said sarcastically. "I mean, I'd even forgotten they had a father. I thought you were just some entity or something."

"Very funny Stephanie," Hunter said, but there was no laughter in his voice. "Look, I was here, and I thought I'd come by and see the girls."

"The only reason that you're here is because of the fact that Chris and I are dating each other. If Chris and I weren't an item, how readily would you be willing to just show up randomly to see your kids?"

"I'm insulted Stephanie, I really am insulted. This has nothing to do with you and Chris--"

"This has everything to do with me and Chris!" Stephanie rebutted. "You can't handle the fact that I've moved on, that I've found someone else. You HATE it, don't lie!"

"Stephanie, get it out of your head that I even care about you, doesn't the fact that I was screwing someone else while we were married alert you to that fact?"

Stephanie was stunned that he would go there, that he would actually say something like that. But she was more surprised by the utter lack of…well anything that she was feeling at the moment. It didn't sting and it didn't hurt and it didn't cause her chest to cave in as she thought about that evening, walking into their bedroom and finding him. She just…she didn't care anymore. And she couldn't wait to tell Chris about that.

"I don't care," Stephanie told him, suddenly feeling a world of freedom open before her eyes. "I don't care if you care about me, I don't care if you like me, hell, I don't care if you think I'm the scum of the Earth, think it."

"What?" Hunter said, and she had surprised him.

"I'm over you, Hunter, I'm completely over you."

"Well that's not what we're here to discuss anyways Stephanie, I want to see my kids and I want to see them now," Hunter demanded, and Stephanie folded her arms in front of her.

"Sorry, you can't," Stephanie said nonchalantly, a smirk gracing her face.

"What!"

"I just told you."

"Look, let me inside that house right now, or I'm going to call the cops on you and tell them you won't let me see my kids."

"Come inside," Stephanie said, stepping out of the way. "But you're not going to find much in there. The girls aren't here at the moment, I'm all by myself. So unless you want more sparkling conversation with yours truly, you're out of luck."

"Are they with your parents?"

"Nope, they're out with Chris," Stephanie told him, and she instantly saw a change in Hunter's demeanor.

His features darkened as he digested this new information. He didn't want Jericho to be around his kids. It was bad enough he was dating his ex-wife, but now he was trying to steal his kids. Stephanie resisted the urge to gloat, but the sentiment was definitely there. She thought this might be satisfying, but she never realized how satisfying it would really be.

"What?" Hunter asked, his voice a low growl.

"He took them out for the afternoon, so they're otherwise incapacitated, sorry, but you have lousy timing."

"What the HELL is he doing out alone with my kids!"

"He's taking them to the library and to the park, he's not taking them to a strip club or something," Stephanie said, loving how he was overreacting to all of this.

"He shouldn't be taking my kids anywhere, he's not their father!"

"Believe me, I know," Stephanie said sarcastically. "But he's been here Hunter, which is more than I can say for you. They wanted to go out with him, and who am I to deny them? It's not your choice to make Hunter, I have sole custody of them, you've never bothered to want any kind of custody."

"Well, maybe I'll try and get sole custody then," Hunter threatened, but Stephanie wasn't worried. She had more than enough character witnesses that would speak against Hunter. She could probably even get his mother to speak against him if there ever was a trial.

"I don't think you'd get it, but whatever," Stephanie said. "Look, I've never, EVER told you that you couldn't see the girls, I haven't even told you that your girlfriend can't see them, but it's simple Hunter…Chris is in our lives, whether you like it or not, and you can't change that fact. I can't change the fact that you cheated on me, it happened, we get over things. You'll just have to get over this because Chris is going to be in our future for a long time to come."

"He's a loser, he's probably on drugs or something, all those rock-stars are you know? You always hear about them entering rehab and everything. And you're letting our daughters be exposed to this kind of man!"

"Hunter! My God, get a grip!" Stephanie said sharply. She wasn't going to allow Hunter to sully Chris's name because he was angry at the man. There were limits to this little game they played, strong limits. "He doesn't do drugs, he's never done drugs, he lives here, I would know if he did!"

"He lives here?" Hunter asked, again stupefied. "What do you mean he LIVES here!"

"You heard me," Stephanie said. "He lives here, with me, with Keagan, with Ferris, those are your daughters by the way. But Chris lives here, well, for the time being, that is before we move."

"Move?" Now Hunter was down to one word questions.

"Yeah, we've decided that we want to move somewhere else, this house isn't exactly the place where spectacular things happen."

"I'm staying here until the girls get here," Hunter said, shoving his way past Stephanie and into the house. Stephanie shook her head and closed the door. She knew that once Hunter was in her house, she wasn't going to get him out again until he saw the girls. So be it, let Ferris rip her father a new one, it would be justified after all, and she'd love to see the little girl show her father who was boss around here.

Stephanie watched as he walked into the living room. He would probably be surprised. All traces of Hunter were gone, every single thing that was his, or had his picture in it was gone. Even the pictures of him with the girls were gone, replaced by something else. There were even pictures of Chris with the girls. Her favorite was the one from DisneyWorld, the day he had rescued Keagan.

Stephanie went into the kitchen again and made herself a glass of iced tea. She wasn't going to offer Hunter anything, especially since he was the one that had barged so unceremoniously into her house. She walked back into the living room, where Hunter was sitting now, and she sat down on one of the chairs. She didn't look at him as she turned on the television and curled up on the chair. She was going to veg out anyways with Chris and the girls out, why should she let Hunter stop her now?

"You're just going to sit there?" Hunter asked after a few moments.

"Um…yeah," Stephanie said, not dignifying him with a look.

"You're not going to call Chris and tell him to bring the girls home?"

"Nope," Stephanie said, finding a show that she liked. "They wanted to go out, so they're out, I'm not going to drag them back home before they're ready."

"I'm their father Stephanie."

"You keep saying it, and I keep hearing it, and it's not going to change so you can shut up now."

"He'll never be their father."

"He's not trying to be," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Are you kidding me! He's out with them right now!"

"Because they wanted to be! Tell me when it's a crime to go out Hunter, and then this might be an actual discussion."

Stephanie ceased talking after that, ignoring Hunter altogether. It was an hour before she heard the front door unlock and she got up off her chair, adjusting her pants once again before bounding to the door. She could feel Hunter behind her, but she turned and glared at him, silently telling him to stay where he was. She didn't expect him to comply, but comply he did.

Stephanie unlocked the door before Chris could open the lock and she slipped outside, closing the door behind her. Chris smiled at her and gave her a small kiss on the lips. Stephanie didn't kiss back and he pulled away. There was something her eyes and he couldn't quite put his finger on why it bothered him so much. Something was definitely happening.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked.

"Everything…and nothing," Stephanie said. "There's someone inside."

"Who?"

"Hunter."

"What?" Chris asked, glancing back to Keagan and Ferris who were playing around on the grass in the front yard. "What's he doing here?"

"He wants to see the girls," she explained. "He wouldn't leave."

"How long has he been here?"

"An hour or so, I think," she said, scrunching up her face trying to think about how long Hunter had been here. "Yeah, about an hour."

"Oh, so what are you going to do?" Chris asked, knowing it was not his place to make any decisions. But that didn't stop Stephanie from wanting his input.

"What do you think I should do?" Stephanie asked, wrapping her arms around Chris's neck. "I mean, on the one hand, he is their father, on the other, he's a deadbeat."

"Yeah," Chris said. "Well, you should let the girls see him, I mean, he is their father. And if Keag or Fer don't want to see him, well then, I guess he'll have his answer right then and there."

"I knew he would show up and try to ruin this," Stephanie said in frustration, gesturing between herself and Chris.

"We won't let him screw this up, I wouldn't let him screw this up," Chris said seriously. "Stephanie, I would not let anything screw this up."

"Before we go tell the girls, there's something I need to tell you," Stephanie said, matching his serious tone with one of her own.

"What?"

"I'm over it," Stephanie said with a barely suppressed sense of joy.

"Over what?" Chris asked, honestly having no idea what she was going on about.

"Hunter, the cheating, my marriage, I'm over it, I'm completely over it. No more tears, no more dwelling, no more what-if's, everything is gone, I'm over it, I'm done with it, and I don't want to look back at that part of my life anymore with the exception of the good times I had with my kids."

The smile Chris gave her was dazzling and he leaned down to kiss her hungrily. He had been waiting patiently, had known that she would need time, and here it was, here was the culmination of that waiting. He was thrilled and completely forgot that his girlfriend's ex-husband was mere feet away from him. It didn't matter to Stephanie, and it sure as hell didn't matter to him.

"Mommy, eww," Keagan said, running up to her Mommy and jumping up at down.

"Oh you," Stephanie said, pulling away from Chris and lifting Keagan into her arms. She turned to Ferris who was now reading on the grass. "Hey Fer, can you come here for a second, there's something I have to say to you."

"Ok Mommy," Ferris said, folding the page down of the book she had been reading. She walked over to the three others and stood close to Chris who wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Is something wrong Mommy?"

"Not really Fer, but Daddy is inside and he wants to see you."

"Daddy is inside the house right now?" Ferris asked, looking stricken as she glanced at the door.

"Yeah, but you don't have to see him if you don't want to," Stephanie emphasized. "I told you before, it's your choice of whether you want to see Daddy or not."

"I guess I can," Ferris said and she retreated into that little girl that Chris had seen the first time he met her and the girl that scared Stephanie. Gone was the happy and smiling Ferris and here was the shy and introverted Ferris that scared Stephanie. Before she could say anything to reassure her daughter, Chris had knelt down next to her.

"Hey Fer, even if you want to see your dad, your mom and I will be right there, so if you don't want to see him anymore, you can just come over and we'll ask him to leave."

"Yeah?" Ferris asked with a smidgen of hope.

"Of course, we wouldn't want you to do something you don't want to do, it's like making you eat gross liver when you want a burger."

"Eww, liver," Ferris said, making a grossed out face. "Thanks Chris."

"Hey, no problem kid, you know I'll look out for you," Chris said as Ferris threw her arms around him.

Stephanie stared at them for a moment, realizing just how much Chris had been integrated into their lives. She saw in him the hope that Keagan and Ferris would grow up with a great father figure in their lives. She saw the hope that she would not die alone, and would have lost of happy times ahead of her.

She saw her future. But now it was time to face her past.


	22. Chapter 22

Stephanie didn't want to go inside. She didn't want to have Hunter leave those girls in a lurch. If he came back into their lives now, he was going to leave again and they would be right back at square one. She spontaneously gave Keagan a hug, letting her know that she was there, just like Chris had done.

Stephanie opened the door to the house, but it seemed like Ferris was hesitant to go inside. Stephanie didn't blame her, she felt the same way that Ferris was feeling. If Stephanie was a witch she would've magically gotten him out of her house. Or maybe she could just get a Hunter voodoo doll and give him lots of pain and torture, like he had done to them.

It was like a funeral procession walking into that house. Keagan and Ferris walked in first; Ferris gave a glance back to her mother, looking almost desperate not to go see her father. Stephanie was already broken-hearted and could feel her heart breaking even more until she felt Chris wrap his arm around her waist.

"How are YOU doing?" he whispered.

"Why does he have to be here?" Stephanie asked. "Everything was going so well and then he had to show up."

"I know."

"And he's going to break their hearts again, I know he is."

"Well, we'll be there for them," Chris said. "Both of us."

Stephanie smiled at that, and turned to kiss him lightly. Keagan and Ferris had already headed into the living room, and were hanging around the doorway. Hunter heard the movement and looked up, seeing his daughters standing there nervously. Hunter stood up and walked over to them, before kneeling on the ground.

"Well, don't I even get a hug?" he asked, holding his arms open.

Keagan looked to Ferris, almost asking what she should do. She was the youngest and often had others tell her what to do, like now, but Ferris wasn't saying anything. So Keagan walked over tentatively, wrapping her arms around Hunter. He hugged her and opened his other arm to Ferris. Ferris stood there, unmoving.

"Can't I get a hug Fer?"

"No," she answered.

"Daddy, you never come here anymore," Keagan said.

"I've been busy kooky pie."

"Chris is here all the time."

"That's cause he lives here, you know that Keagan," Ferris told her younger sister.

"I'm not here to talk about Chris," Hunter said, trying to keep his anger in check. He didn't need to go off in front of his daughters and make himself look like the bad guy. "I came to see you guys and hear everything about what you've been doing. Like what did you do in school today?"

"I drew Chris a picture," Keagan said slowly. "He liked it."

"Anything else?"

"Chris took us to the library and they had so many books," Keagan said.

"Oh," Hunter said, knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere. It seemed that his family was under Chris Jericho's spell and he hated that. Chris should not be honing in on his territory. These were HIS daughters, not Jericho's, and he should know that.

"Yeah, we went to the library," Ferris said.

"So Ferris, how's school been?"

"Fine," she answered shortly. "Are you going to go now?"

"I thought that I could stay for a visit and if you guys wanted, I can take you guys out to dinner, how does that sound?"

"I don't think Mommy would want us to go," Ferris told him. "She'd probably want us to stay here and eat dinner. And I have homework that I need to do, so I don't think that would be a good idea."

"It's only one night Ferris, I think Mommy would let you go out for one night, it's not all the time that I'm around."

"I know," she said coldly.

"Ferris, come here and sit with me and let's talk," Hunter said, glad that Stephanie nor Chris had shown up and seen how badly he was doing with his daughters. He hadn't expected them to be so distant with him. He honestly thought that they would be running to him with open arms.

Ferris kept her arms crossed as she slowly made her way across the living room. She sat down on the chair while Hunter took a seat on the couch. She had seen her mother act this way a number of times, and so she was just emulating her mother. Stephanie could be a block of ice if she wanted to be, and so could Ferris, for she was her mother's daughter.

"I know that I haven't been around a lot," Hunter started. "But that doesn't mean that I stopped loving you. That doesn't mean that I don't think about you all the time, because I do think about you and how you're doing."

"Ok," Ferris said.

"So you shouldn't be mad at me."

"Why?"

Hunter frowned, "Because of what I just said."

"You could still call us, but you didn't," Ferris said, knowing that Hunter barely called. She was smart enough to know that Hunter could be a lot more involved in their lives, and she was lead to the conclusion that Hunter simply did not care.

"You know I moved out to California Ferris," Hunter told her. "You know that I've been trying to settle down out there, and it's been difficult to do, and so yes, I haven't been around as much as I could have, but I'm here now, and I want to know what's going on in your life. That's the reason why I'm here, I wanted to see you and see Keagan and hear about everything."

"I skipped a grade," Ferris said. "Mommy told me that my teacher said I was smart enough to go into the third grade, so that's where I am."

"Wow," Hunter said. "I had no idea."

"Because you weren't here," Ferris told him. "You weren't here so you didn't know."

"Ferris, I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say," Hunter said. He hadn't even realized how incredibly smart Ferris was. She was incredible and capable, and he hadn't noticed it. How had he not noticed that his daughter was extremely smart?

"Chris knew, because Chris was here," Ferris taunted. "He went with Mommy to talk to my teacher. He picks me up from school and he takes me to the library and he reads with me, and he's always here."

"Ferris, you know I can't be here all the time."

"Chris can!" Ferris yelled, standing up. "Chris is here, and he doesn't even have to be! He came and saw us when he didn't have to. He called because he wanted to know what I was doing in school, and I didn't have to ask him!"

"Ferris, calm down," Hunter said sternly. He was still their father, even if he wasn't around, and he could still command them.

"No! I don't want to," she said, in full temper tantrum mode now. Even Keagan was looking at her sister amazed. Keagan had never seen Ferris get this mad before. That was probably because Keagan had NEVER been this mad before, but here she was, like a volcano.

"Yes!"

"No, I don't care about you!" Ferris screamed. "I don't like you! Mommy said I don't have to talk to you if I don't want to, and I don't want to! Just go away and leave me alone! Chris is better than you are, Chris is here!"

Ferris dissolved into tears at this point, more out of anger than sadness. Chris and Stephanie who had been in the other room, letting Hunter have some space, heard Ferris's outburst and Stephanie rushed into the other room. She saw Ferris standing there, looking so lost and vulnerable…and just so sad. Stephanie ran over to her and enveloped her into a hug so tight that it threatened to steal Ferris's breath away.

"Shh, it's ok Fer, I'm right here, like I said I'd be," Stephanie said, rubbing Ferris's back comfortingly. "Come on, why don't we go into the other room?"

Ferris didn't stop crying, but she allowed Stephanie to lead her over to Chris. Chris knelt down in front of her, not caring if Hunter saw this; right now he was more concerned about Ferris's well-being than what Hunter thought of his relationship with Ferris and Keagan. Ferris threw her arms around Chris's neck, holding on tightly. Chris lifted her up easily and took her into the other room.

He sat on the couch and sat her next to him, letting her cry it out. He had never seen anybody, child or adult, cry so hard. It broke his heart that it was happening to one of the sweetest kids that he knew. Ferris should not have been put through this and if Hunter had any sense, he would leave her alone for a good long while. Ferris had to sort through a lot of feelings and she shouldn't have had to be bothered by Hunter.

"It'll be ok Fer, you don't have to talk to him again," Chris said soothingly. "We'll just sit in here and we can let your mom deal with your dad."

"I don't want to talk to him," Ferris said softly.

"Don't worry, your mom and I are here and we wouldn't make you do anything that you didn't want to do. I know that your so angry right now, but don't focus on that ok?"

"Chris, will you ever leave us?" Ferris asked, looking up at him with desperate eyes. She didn't know what she would do if Chris ever left. She had become so used to him.

"I'm not planning on it," Chris said. "Your mom and I talked about it, and I'm going to be sticking around for a long time."

"Do you promise?" Ferris asked him.

"I cross my heart," Chris said, making the cross motion over his heart to let her know that he was more than serious. Ferris needed some stability, something that she could count on and seeing her face, Chris wanted to give her that, give her anything that she needed without thought or question.

Stephanie knelt there for who knew how long. She bit back the tears that were threatening to escape. This had been what she had been afraid of; everything that was happening now was something that she knew would come, but had tried so desperately to avoid. She stood up slowly and turned her eyes to her ex-husband.

"Get the hell out of my house," she said slowly, trying to keep her composure. Inside, the only thing she wanted to do was rip Hunter to shreds.

"Stephanie, what the hell did you--"

"You don't even want to mess with me right now," Stephanie interrupted. "You don't even want to know what I'm capable of right now Hunter. Don't you get it? Can't you get it through that thick-headed skull of yours that this is NOT about you! NOTHING IS ABOUT YOU RIGHT NOW!"

"Well maybe if Chris wasn't--"

"No Hunter, maybe if YOU were…you know, it's no use, if it's not about you and your feelings than it's about nothing," Stephanie said. "You don't understand how I had to deal with two very upset little girls. You don't know what you did to them. Yes, YOU, Hunter, you're the one who did this, not Chris, not me, not anybody else. This is your fault, and don't give me some bullshit explanation about how you needed to settle down or anything like that. You weren't here, ok, that's what it comes down to! So just get the hell out of my house!"

Hunter was going to speak, but Stephanie gave him a deathly stare and he knew better than to argue with her right now. He left wordlessly, not saying goodbye to anyone, not even to Keagan who was standing there, almost shaking at the anger that was reverberating from the room. She had just seen things that she had never seen before. It wasn't until Hunter was out of the room that Stephanie even noticed her and Stephanie almost slapped herself for doing that in front of Keagan.

"Come here Keags," Stephanie said, opening her arms to her daughter. Keagan ran over and Stephanie picked her up. "I'm sorry that you had to see that sweetie."

"Is Ferris ok?" Keagan asked softly, more concerned for her sister right now.

"Let's go see alright?"

"Ok," Keagan nodded.

Stephanie and Keagan walked into the other room where Chris was telling Ferris a joke. Ferris giggled as a bright smile lit up Chris's face. He was happy that he had made her laugh. He saw Stephanie out of the corner of his eye and he looked over at her. She mouthed that he was gone and Chris nodded. He tilted his head towards the seat on the other side of Ferris and she took the opportunity to sit down.

"How are you doing Fer?" Stephanie asked.

"Is Daddy gone?" Ferris asked.

"Yeah, he's gone, I asked him to leave."

"Thank you Mommy," Ferris said, hugging her mother.

"Ferris, do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I just told Daddy that he wasn't around and Chris was," Ferris said. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"You have NOTHING to be sorry about, ok Fer? This was all on Daddy and nothing is your fault. You have every right to be mad at Daddy for not being around," Stephanie told her, wanting her daughter to know that this was anything but her fault.

"Ok Mommy."

"While we're talking about serious things, Chris and I wanted to bring something up with the both of you."

"What Mommy?" Keagan asked.

"Well, Chris and I were thinking about moving…"

"Where?" Ferris asked.

"Somewhere close, what do you guys think?"

"I don't mind Mommy," Ferris said.

"Me neither," Keagan said, just answering the same way that Ferris did. She wanted to be like her big sister.

"Well ok then," Stephanie said. "I think this could be good." Chris smiled at her.

"Very good."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys, I love this story, and I'm SO glad that you all seem to love this story too. Please keep the reviews coming, they totally make my day. :)

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"Are those all your dolls Keag?"

"Uh huh Mommy, every one of them," Keagan told Stephanie, handing her the very last doll. "Are you sure they're going to be ok when they go to the new house?"

"I promise that they'll be ok," Stephanie said, kissing Keagan's forehead. "And then you can put them in your new room any way you like them, do you remember what your new room looks like?"

"I think so," Keagan said.

"It's bigger than your room now and it has more windows so it's brighter and remember how we had it painted light green just like you wanted it?"

Keagan smiled and nodded. Stephanie was glad to see that the girls were transitioning well to their move to the new house. She and Chris had picked out the perfect home for them and the girls. It was large, a mansion if you wanted to call it by name, but it wasn't obscenely large, just large enough for them. And it wasn't gaudy; it was unassuming and sat on a large property, much like Stephanie's old home, and Chris's home in Florida.

They had brought the girls to see it and they had fallen in love with it as well, claiming rooms for their own out of the numerous rooms available to them. Stephanie and Chris were trying to make the transition as easy as possible so the girls wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the move. Their new house was about fifteen minutes away from their old house so not a lot of things were changing. Since Keagan and Ferris went to a private school, they didn't have to switch schools, and it was still in town and still close to everywhere they went on their normal routine.

Now they were packing up everything and having the moving men load it all up and deliver it to their new house, which they were moving into today. Chris was already at the other house, some of his things from his house in Florida were being brought in today as well and they had to find places for all of his things, luckily the house was rather large. She closed the one last box in Keagan's room and took her daughter's hand as they walked down the stairs and to the front hall where the movers were.

"Everything is boxed up," she told them. "So you can just pack everything away, nothing is really valuable or fragile."

"Ok ma'am," one of them said as they walked upstairs.

"And you have the address right?" Stephanie asked before the walked out of her line of vision. "Or do you need me to stay?"

"No, we have the address ma'am."

"Ok, great, so I'll leave you to do that, and thanks so much," Stephanie said to them as she took Keagan's hand in her own. They walked out to the car and Stephanie held the door open for her daughter as she hopped into the car, snapping her seatbelt into place with a proud smile.

Stephanie went around to the other side and got into the car, starting it up and driving towards their new home. "So are you excited to get to be in your new room?"

"Mommy, what if there's a monster in my closet?" Keagan asked from the backseat.

"I don't think there's going to be a monster in your closet sweetie," Stephanie told her good-naturedly.

"But what if there is Mommy?" Keagan asked, a slight whine in her voice. "They hide you know. They hide until you're alone and then they attack!"

"If there's a monster in your closet, Chris or I will take care of it."

"How?"

"Well, I bet you didn't know there was a monster in MY closet, did you?" Stephanie asked. She saw Keagan shaking her head in the rearview mirror. "Well, Chris went right in and talked to it and he left."

"Really? Chris got him to leave?"

"Yeah, I don't know what he said, but whatever it was, it must've been very good. I think if there's a monster in your closet in the new house that Chris will be able to talk to him and get him to leave too."

"Chris can do that?" Keagan asked incredulously.

"Yeah, Chris is very diplomatic."

"Mommy, what's that?"

"It means he's good with talking with people," Stephanie said as she kept driving.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Does Daddy know where we're living now?"

"He knows we're moving, why do you ask?" Stephanie said, biting the inside of her cheek. She hated to think about Hunter, let alone discuss him. She, predictably, hadn't heard from Hunter since Ferris' blow-up at him. She was thankful for that. She just didn't want to think about Hunter and what he was doing. She was going to be happy now. She had someone new, and Hunter was nothing to her, nothing.

"Just wanted to know," Keagan shrugged. She turned her head to watch the passing scenery. Stephanie just kept driving towards their new house, leaving any bad memories back at her old house. She was glad to free her mind of some things. She'd never have to walk into the room that she had found her husband having an affair in.

She remembered the heartbreak. The anger and the disappointment. She could remember the feelings that had permeated her entire being. She didn't remember the events, no, those had faded over time, faded into oblivion. But the feelings, those kind of things never went away. She could swallow them, or bury them in the back of her mind, but they would never cease from being entirely. But she'd never have to actually see the scene of the crime.

She pulled up to their new house. It really was beautiful and just right for all of them. She smiled eagerly at Keagan in the back-seat before turning off the car. She house loomed in front of them and she saw Chris through the open doorway, carrying a box somewhere. She and Keagan got out of the car and opened the trunk where some of their things were sitting in boxes.

"You can go on ahead Keag," Stephanie said.

"Ok Mommy," Keagan said, bounding up the steps while calling out for her sister.

Stephanie grabbed a box and started bringing it inside. She was just inside the doorway when the box was intercepted by someone else. She smiled over the top as she saw Chris take the box from her with a smile. He saw the label on top and brought it into the kitchen. She watched him walk away as she spied Ferris unpacking towels and setting them neatly on the ground next to her.

"Do you need help Fer?"

"I don't know where to put these Mommy," Ferris told her.

"Here, let me take them," Stephanie said, taking the towels from her daughter. "Why don't you take your sister and go out and check out the backyard. Just stay away from the pool ok?"

"Ok Mommy," Ferris said, running off to find her sister among the rooms that they would have to get used to. But they had time, they had a lot of time. She sighed and looked around, just taking it all in. This was her new house. A new home, with pretty much the same family, with one glaring difference, but a good difference. She took the towels upstairs to a linen closet, wondering where Chris had run off to.

She found out as she went downstairs and saw him leaning against the wall talking into his cell phone. She came over and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Rich, man, I told you my new phone number, no, I'm not going to tell you again. You wrote it down man, have your wife look for it. Dude, the phone's not even hooked up right now. You couldn't call me if you wanted. Ok, whatever, yeah, we can collaborate, send me an e-mail and I'll get back to you."

Chris hung up and sighed. Stephanie smiled up at him. "I'm guessing that was band business."

"Rich wants to discuss a new album. The man just loves to work, I mean, I get that it's a good thing, but sometimes we need time off."

"His wife doesn't mind?"

"Nah, she's used to it," Chris said. "Plus, Rich had just talked to Brad, our manager, and apparently, they want us to present an award at the Grammy's. It's a ways away, but they like to get all that out of the way."

"That's great," Stephanie said, excitedly. "That should be fun."

"I guess, but I think I'm having more fun here," Chris said, kissing the tip of Stephanie's nose. She blushed deeply, her face becoming a deep red. She had to get used to all the compliments that Chris gave her. Hunter had never been much in the way of compliments. But Chris loved to pay her compliments and it always made her feel like she was undeserving of such praise. "You're cute when you're embarrassed, you know that. I think it has to do with the fact that you have two kids, and you've been with guys before and yet, the simplest compliment gets a blush out of you."

"Shut up," she said good-naturedly.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, but your dad called earlier, on my cell phone actually."

"What did he want?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"Oh, he wanted to work out some details about me coming back to television, and in what capacity. Probably not as a wrestler, but like a General Manager or something. He thinks that would be a great way to bring me back. He also mentioned you coming back as kind of my opposition, setting up a feud between us."

"Oh," Stephanie said. "Wow, my dad sure does work quickly doesn't he?"

"He's just thinking about the show Steph. Besides, I have a lot of time off right now, unless Rick decides to work me into the ground again, so I think this would be good. I thought we could at least discuss it."

"Yeah, we can discuss it," Stephanie nodded. "Definitely."

Chris sensed that something was off with her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He kissed her again, not trying to extract the information from her, but letting her know that she was there. He wanted her to know that he would always be there. He didn't want to screw up this relationship. It was the best relationship he had ever been in, and when you got a hold of your dream, you never wanted to give it up.

"I'm going to go find the girls," Stephanie said. "But we'll talk later."

"Ok, I think I just heard the movers pull up, so I'm going to show them where things need to go. You sure you're ok?"

"I'm sure Chris," Stephanie said with a smile.

Chris didn't trust her, but he didn't question her any further. She walked out into the backyard and saw Keagan and Ferris sitting on the grass together, talking about something. Stephanie walked over to them and sat in between them, wrapping her arms around the two of them. They looked happy for the most part, and she was glad for that.

"So what are my girls up to?"

"Nothing Mommy," Ferris said. "We're a little bored cause there's nothing set up in the house."

"Well, the movers are here and they'll put everything where it needs to be and once we unpack everything, it'll feel more like home."

"I know," Ferris said. "We just have to get used to it, right Mommy?"

"Yeah, right Mommy?" Keagan mimicked.

"That's right. But once everything is in place, it'll feel just like home, and Chris is going to be here for a long, long time with us, so it'll be even more fun with all of us. Don't you think so?"

"I really like Chris Mommy," Ferris said shyly. "Can you please marry him so he'll never leave?"

Stephanie laughed. "We'll have to see about that, but don't tell Chris I told you, I like him a lot too."

"More than anyone?" Keagan asked.

"Well not more than my girls," Stephanie exclaimed, embracing them both as Keagan giggled. Ferris gave a small smile to herself. She was glad that her mother was falling for Chris. She liked Chris and she just wanted her mother to be happy again. Stephanie didn't know it, but Ferris had often heard her mother crying after she thought that Ferris had gone to bed. She hated hearing that, and it fueled so much of her anger towards her father. She knew it was her father's fault for why her mother cried all the time. But now, now that Chris was here, she didn't hear her mother cry…ever, and she wanted nothing more than to never hear her mother cry again.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" came Chris's voice. The three McMahon girls looked over at him as he stood in the door frame leading into the house. "I wasn't going to be invited?"

"Maybe we were talking about you," Stephanie pointed out.

"Only good things I hope," Chris said as he walked further outside. "The movers have pretty much gotten everything in the house, the hard part is unpacking it all. We may have to live bare bones for a little while."

"We'll manage," Stephanie said, waving him over. "Come over, sit with us."

Chris walked over and sat down on the grass next to Keagan. He lifted her up easily and sat her down in his lap as he scooted closer to Stephanie. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she pulled Ferris closer to her. They sat there, in silence for a few minutes, just looking out at their great expanse of backyard, a seemingly green ocean of grass, fading into a horizon that held so many possibilities for all of them.

Keagan broke the silence, leaning her head all the way back to look up at Chris's chin. "Mommy said you can get rid of monsters Chris, is that true?"

Chris laughed. "Well, I have been known to take care of a few monsters in my day."

"Good…good," Keagan nodded seriously.

Chris laughed again at the seriousness in her voice as he turned his gaze to Stephanie, who was laughing too. He just looked at her profile for a moment, studying it like it was the last time he would ever see her. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that everything in his life had led up to this moment. He had never pined for Stephanie in the traditional sense. He had never let himself dwell on Stephanie, but sometimes, she would flit through his brain. Like the night he wrote his song for her, or the other song that he had written for her, that nobody knew was even for her. Someday he would tell her about it…about how sometimes he couldn't escape the thoughts of her.

But she was his now and he didn't know how he had come to deserve that. He wasn't really a man who believed in the fate of things. He still thought it was coincidence that he had run into her at Walt DisneyWorld of all places. He didn't think that it was necessarily fate that had brought him here. If it was indeed something called fate, he'd like to talk to whoever was in charge of that and ask why it had to take so long to find someone he was so utterly in love with.

That thought shocked him. He was in love with Stephanie. He had never thought that before, had never voiced it, and here it was, at this moment. He was shocked that he was thinking that. Granted, Stephanie was beautiful and smart and everything he ever wanted in a woman, was it too early to be in love with her? Subconsciously, hadn't he been in love with her for a long time though? That was a puzzle in and of itself. But here he was, in love with Stephanie.

Chris bit his lip and looked to Stephanie, who was looking over at Keagan with a smile. He leaned closer to her, so his mouth was close to his ear. "Steph?"

"Hmm?" Stephanie mumbled.

"I love you."


	24. Chapter 24

Stephanie turned to look at him. She blinked a couple of times and saw the uncovered emotion in his eyes. He was looking at her expectantly, expecting her to say something back. She stared at his mouth, which was opening and closing a little as he breathed, but also seemed like he was on the verge of saying something, but whatever it was, it couldn't have compared to what he had just said. She stared at him a moment longer. She knew he was anxious.

"Um, Keag, Fer, can you go inside and find which room you want to be the playroom, just…make sure it's downstairs," Stephanie said numbly, still staring at Chris's face, "Then we'll start unpacking, I just need to talk to Chris for a second."

"Sure Mommy," Ferris said, standing up and dusting the grass off of her. "Come on Keagan."

Ferris held her hand out for Keagan and Keagan crawled out of Chris's lap, grabbing her sister's hand as they joyfully went inside the house to find the perfect room. They loved that they had been given such an important responsibility and they were taking this very seriously. It wasn't every day that your mother asked such a big question of you. That left Chris and Stephanie sitting on the grass together, alone, and she was still staring at his face.

"Wow," she said softly.

"I'm sorry," he said instinctively. He didn't know what else to say. All he knew was that she hadn't said it back, that she hadn't said what he wanted to hear. Was he desperate to hear her say the words? He didn't know actually.

"Why are you sorry?" Stephanie asked.

"I didn't mean to startle you with that," Chris told her. "I didn't mean to just jump out there and say it. I haven't even been thinking it that long."

"Oh," Stephanie said, sounding slightly disappointed that he hadn't been loving her for that long.

"I mean, I'm sure…about it, I just, didn't want to scare you with it," Chris said. "Can we just forget I said it, I'm embarrassed and Chris Jericho doesn't get embarrassed. It's just not in my repertoire."

"Chris, it was sweet," Stephanie said. "And I had no problem with hearing it."

"Yeah?" he said, letting a sigh of relief escape his lips. "I wasn't too forward."

"No, you weren't too forward. It surprised me is all. When you go so long with thinking that nobody loves you like you should be loved, the first person to say it to you is going to be kind of surprise. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"How could you ever think that nobody loves you?"

"No, I know I'm loved, I know that Keagan and Ferris…I know they love me. And I know that my family loves me too. But love like I used to have, with Hunter. When you have your heart torn out, you never think that you're going to find that kind of love again. And you saying that you love me, well, it just, it surprised me is all. Because I didn't think that anyone would love me again. And it goes back to my insecurity because of Hunter, but…that's what I thought. Then you come out and say something that I didn't even know I NEEDED to hear, and yet, you somehow knew that I needed to hear it," she said, tired after her mini-speech.

He turned to her and ran his index finger down the line of her jaw until it came to rest softly under her chin. "You DO deserve to be loved. You're great Steph, you're…when I imagined being with you, I thought it would be good. But it's better than that. It's…everything and more."

Stephanie's eyes turned glassy. "And you took my girls in like they were your own, and that above anything else…I love you too."

Chris's head shot back as he took in her whole face. Through her glassy eyes he could see a sparkle in them. Whether it was the light reflecting off her unshed tears or just pure happiness, he would never know, but there was something. Her mouth turned up into a lazy smile as she, in turn, took in his surprised expression. It seemed that today was just full of surprises.

"What, surprised that I said it back?" she asked, laughing through the happy tears that threatened to escape from her eyes.

"Yeah, actually," Chris admitted. "I mean, I hadn't been expecting you to say it. I mean, I would've understood if you hadn't."

"But I do, so don't worry about it," she teased gently.

"You don't feel like I'm going too fast for you?" he implored. He was just surprised that she would admit to being in love with him. She had said that she was completely over Hunter, but to be completely over Hunter and then to say that she loved him, it was…there were no words actually.

"Chris, we've been going pretty fast in this relationship as it is," she pointed out astutely. "I mean, I don't think we're rushing things too much or anything, because we've known each other for years. But I guess we have been going a little fast…why, is that a problem?"

"No, I just don't want you to feel rushed in this relationship, I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to feel a certain way."

"You're not, don't worry," she said, shrugging off his concerns. "Chris, I wouldn't have said I loved you if I didn't love you. That's a very serious thing to say and I wouldn't ever say something I didn't mean. I loved Hunter and he betrayed me, I don't take those three words lightly anymore."

"Yeah, I get that," he nodded dumbly.

"You've wormed your way into my heart Chris," she said, leaning across the short distance to capture his lips in hers. She brushed her lips against his softly.

"Can you say it one more time?" Chris asked. "You know, just to make sure that you actually said it."

Stephanie laughed softly and cupped his face in her delicate hands. "Chris Jericho, I love you."

He smiled, "Wow, see, I've heard those words before, a couple of times and they never felt like this."

"How does this feel like?" she asked kindly.

"I don't know exactly, but it feels better than anything I've ever felt before," Chris told her. "I just feel like I can talk to you. I'm in such a superficial business, you always hear the things you want to hear, but only because they want to keep you happy."

"Well…um, do you want to tell me you're a horrible singer or something?"

"Yeah, tell me that," Chris joked back.

"I feel different when I'm around you too…it's kind of scary though," she said, looking off. Chris could sense that she needed to get something out, that there was more than love she was feeling. She looked a little dismayed actually. He didn't push the topic though, letting her speak on her own time.

"Whatever it is Steph, you can tell me," Chris told her softly.

"It's just--"

"Mommy!" Keagan said running over. "We picked a room, we picked a room!"

"Ok sweetie," Stephanie said, glancing over at Chris before she stood up and dusted the grass off her butt. "Want to show me which room it is?"

"Yeah!" Keagan said excitedly, in her ever loud voice. She grabbed her mother's hand and started dragging her into the house, Stephanie allowing her to pull her inside to go see the room that she and her sister had picked out.

Chris just stayed on the grass and stared out. He was there for a few minutes when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He looked back and saw Ferris staring at him. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. "What is it Fer?"

"I was wondering if you would help me bring some of the boxes up to my room," she asked politely. "Are you busy?"

"Nope, never too busy for you," Chris said, winking at her and causing her to let out a little giggle. He took her hand in his as she led him back inside the house and over to the boxes that needed to be brought up to her room.

Later that evening, the four of them collapsed onto the couch in their new living room. Stephanie leaned her head against Chris's shoulder as he ran his hand through her hair. Keagan yawned as she leaned her head on the arm of the couch, practically draping herself over it. Ferris had her head against Stephanie's side, wrapping her mother's arm around her.

"Ok, so who just wants to order a pizza?" Stephanie asked tiredly.

"I'd raise my hand, but I think I'm incapable," Chris told her. "How can we all have so much stuff?"

"Well, I know that the leopard print armchairs were not mine," Stephanie said.

"I told you already, they could go into my office/rec room, and be unseen by any eyes but mine."

"Good," she said, making kissing noises. "I'd kiss you, but your lips are too far away."

"So who's going to order the pizza?"

"Um, you," Stephanie said impishly. "I've got a little girl attached to my side right now."

"Well I've got a big girl attached to my shoulder," Chris pointed out.

"How about we get Keagan to order the pizza, she's not attached to anyone."

"Mommy," Keagan whined. "I can't order the pizza."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm little," she protested.

"Ok lazy girls, I'll go order the pizza," Chris said, standing up and leaving Stephanie to fall on the couch a giggling Ferris falling with her. He walked into the kitchen and dialed the number for the pizza place they got pizza from, ordering two pizzas since the little ones liked cheese only and he and Stephanie liked toppings on it. He hung up the phone when he was finished and went back into the living room where the girls were still lying on the couch. It appeared as though Keagan were fast asleep, but she was just slowly opening and closing her eyes. He went over and kneeled next to her face.

"You sleepy Keags?" he asked.

"Uh uh," she said as defiantly as she could muster, which wasn't very.

"Just stay up for dinner and then we can put you to bed."

"Will you kill any monsters for me?" Keagan asked sleepily.

"All of them, I'll get all of them."

"Thank you," she said, yawning.

Chris sat in an armchair and grabbed the remote to flip on the television and wait for the pizza. By the time the guy got there, all three of the girls were asleep and he went and put the pizza into the kitchen before going back into the living room and laughing as they were all asleep. He went over to Stephanie and gently shook her shoulder.

"Steph, dinner's here."

"Hmm?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"Dinner is here," he repeated.

"Oh, ok," she said, stretching her arms and accidentally hitting Keagan in the leg. She sat up with Ferris, who was starting to wake up. "Keag, Fer, dinner is here, let's go eat in the kitchen ok?"

"Ok," Keagan said rubbing her eyes as Ferris stood up from the couch.

Dinner was subdued as Keagan and Ferris struggled to keep their eyes open enough to eat their meal. Chris and Stephanie were afraid that they would fall face first into their pizza. The day had been one filled with excitement and lots of work and it was taking its toll on the young girls. Stephanie forwent their baths and just got them into their pajamas after dinner. After Chris made sure that there were no monsters to be found in any nook and cranny in Keagan's room, the two went off to bed.

"You want to watch a movie downstairs?" Stephanie asked Chris as they exited Keagan's room, her arms wrapped around his waist as they were walking. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her closer.

"Nah, I think I want to hit the sack."

"Yeah, that does sound nice," Stephanie said as they turned around and headed for their bedroom. Chris went in ahead as Stephanie went downstairs real quickly to make sure the doors were locked and the alarm was on. Chris was already in bed when she came back in. She went into her closet to change and then went to the bathroom to get ready for bed before climbing inside with Chris. He cuddled up to her from behind in the spoons position.

"So earlier, you looked like you had something on your mind, do you want to share?"

"It's nothing," Stephanie said, waving him off.

"You looked weird, please, you don't have to hide anything from me."

Stephanie sighed and rubbed his hand which was resting on her stomach. She closed her eyes as she began to speak. "I think that I love you more than I loved Hunter. With you, I feel this urgency, like I just need you around me all the time, like I can't get enough of you."

"Wow, that's a really huge compliment," Chris said honestly. "Thank you for that Stephanie. I really mean it."

"I know, it's just…it's more than that."

"Ok," he said, not prodding her directly.

She turned in his arms, looking up at him. "Chris, what if I do love you more than I loved Hunter?"

"Well, I'd say that's good for me," he said, a little confused as to why she was beating herself up for this. "Since I want you to love me more than him."

"But if I do…what does that say about Keagan and Ferris?"

"Oh Steph," Chris said, his voice changing as he realized what she meant. He leaned down to kiss the bridge of her nose. "Don't you even think that you wouldn't love those girls as much as you love them."

"But Chris, say we have kids in the near future, what if I end up loving those kids more?" she asked guiltily.

"I don't think that's possible."

"But what if it happens. What if every time I see Keagan or Ferris I think of Hunter, and then I see one of our kids and I see you, and I automatically love you more, and then I'll love that child more, and then I'll be neglecting my other children."

"Whoa, slow down," he said, pressing his finger to her lips. "Steph, we're not even that far ahead yet unless you're pregnant, which I don't think you are."

"I'm not."

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Chris told her. "Steph, you have nothing to worry about. I know how much you love those girls, and you know how much you love those girls, and they are not a reflection of Hunter."

"Relationships are hard," Stephanie lamented.

"You're telling me, I'm the one in bed with the crazy woman!" Chris joked. She playfully swatted at him and he ducked her blow and kissed her soundly. She moaned softly and let him just kiss her and wash away all her fears. She was right when she said that relationships were hard. She never thought she'd be a divorced woman with a boyfriend, or a divorced woman at all, so she was having to adjust to so many conflicting feelings and emotions.

"Mommy," a small voice said from the doorway.

Chris pulled away hastily, glad that he and Stephanie had not gone any farther than they had at the moment. Stephanie wiped at her mouth. "Keagan, what is it baby?"

"I know there are no monsters in my room, but I've never slept in there before, do you think that you could sleep with me tonight just to make sure that I get used to it?" she asked quietly, the quietest Chris had ever seen her.

"Of course baby," Stephanie said, getting out of bed and going to the door to her daughter.

"Chris too," Keagan said, pointing at him.

"Chris, do you accept the invitation?" Stephanie asked, knowing that if Keagan didn't get her way, she might not go to sleep tonight.

"Yeah, sure," he complied, hopping out of the bed and following them into Keagan's room. Keagan settled herself into the bed, Chris and Stephanie flanking her on either side to ward away anything that might go bump in the night. Stephanie looked apologetically at Chris, but he just shrugged, not minding.

"It's only until she falls asleep," Stephanie whispered over Chris's head. "Then we can go back."

Chris nodded as he kind of half lied down, half sat up, Keagan leaning her head against her mother's hip. They sat there with her for about an hour. Keagan's eyes would occasionally open to make sure that they were still there and reassured that every time she did open them they were, she drifted off into a blissful sleep. Chris slipped out of the bed as Stephanie did the same and they tip-toed their way out of the room and into their bedroom. Chris leaned his chin on her shoulder.

"Are all your doubts washed away now?"

She just smiled and pushed him into bed.


	25. Chapter 25

Stephanie had to get used to Chris, she realized. She knew that Chris had been living here for a while now, but she had to get used to him all the same. It had just been her and the girls after she had kicked Hunter out of the house. It was like the "Girl Power Hour" around here and now she had a man in the house. Not only did she have a man in the house, she had bought the house with the man. She and Chris were both on the papers when they bought the house so it was both of theirs.

She turned her head to look at Chris while he was sleeping. He looked peaceful right now, laying on his stomach, facing her and his arm was slung across her stomach. Sharing a bed was different too. Right before she had discovered Hunter with his mistress she had noticed that he had started to shy away from her. When they were sleeping, he would usually have his back to her and be on the other side of the bed. Chris was different. Chris constantly wanted to be touching her, and she had to get used to it.

She had to get used to Chris being there and the girls having two parents again. She had gotten so used to taking sole responsibility for them that she had forgotten what it was like to have help. She was just being paranoid right now though, she knew that she was just being paranoid. Once her life had finally settled down, she was starting to freak out. She was being irrational, but then she and Chris had confessed their love for one another.

That was something huge. It was bigger than huge actually, it was gargantuan. She had never thought when she had fallen in love with Hunter that she would ever love again. When you get married and you find that person that you think is your soulmate, you truly believe that this is the man that you are going to love for an eternity. It's a good feeling too, secure and warm, a warm feeling that just undulated through your body in the most delicious way.

But then Hunter had cheated on her and broken the bond of marriage and suddenly she found herself without love. That was an even stranger feeling, because then the world was big again and the person you might be meant to love for the rest of your life was out there and you didn't know where they were or how you were going to find them. But Stephanie had found hers in the strangest of places.

Chris and her had been friends when she was a wrestler. Well, maybe friends was stretching it a little bit. They were more than acquaintances, but less than friends, whatever that was. They had had friendly conversations and they had worked well together, having a long storyline that had spanned more than a year. They had shared kisses, but those had simply been stage kisses and she had never put much thought into them. Now, though, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She hadn't been all that sad when he had left the company because she had no reason to be sad, but if she had known what would happen, if she had known she was going to end up here, she might've missed him just a little bit more than she had. She might've tried to look him up sooner. She smiled to herself and reached out to tuck a piece of his hair behind his ear as he slept so she could get a better look at his face.

He stirred and mumbled, "Steph, what are you doing?"

"Watching you sleep."

"That's creepy," he whispered hoarsely.

"Why?"

"Because it's like you want to kill me or something," he told her, opening his eyes to look up at her. "Steph, it's still dark out, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"Chris," she said, the question in her voice prevalent.

"Yes," he answered in the same tone.

"How many girls have you lived with?" she asked politely.

"One," he answered immediately.

"Who?"

"You, duh," he said, turning on his side to prop himself up. "You're the only girl I've ever lived with, that's an easy stat to remember because you're the first."

"So you have to get used to living with me then?" she asked curiously.

"I guess so," he said. "I mean, sure."

"I'm getting used to you too," she told him, sliding down to face him. "I mean, I've lived with Hunter, but it's different now and I'm getting used to you. I don't think I'm used to you."

"Well don't let that interrupt your sleep," he chuckled, reaching his hand up to caress her cheek. "We're both getting used to each other. It's just a learning process, and we're both learning. Do you think it was easy for me coming to live with three girls?"

"No…" She slid a little closer to him. "But you don't regret it do you?"

"Too early to say," he said in a joking tone. "Nah, I don't regret it Steph. Like I've told you a million times before, you're a fantasy come true."

"I like the idea that I'm your fantasy," she sweetly said. "I don't think anyone has ever told me that I was their fantasy before."

"Well then you haven't met enough men in your life."

Stephanie giggled and settled herself against his warm body. No more would she have to get used to a cold bed. Chris would be there and he would wrap his arms around her like he was doing at the moment and she wouldn't be alone. She wouldn't have to wake up and see an empty pillow, half an unmade bed, or anything so utterly depressing as those visuals provided.

"Now can I go back to sleep because I have a meeting with your father early this morning, and I seriously doubt that he wants to know that his daughter kept me up all night because that sounds really suspicious."

"Oh yeah, your meeting with my dad, I forgot," Stephanie said uneasily.

"Yeah, he wants to go over when I want to come back, iron out the details and the like," Chris told her, kissing her temple. "I think this should be fun, I've conquered the music world, and now I get to go back and conquer the wrestling world…again."

"Yup, conquer…"

"You sound tired, why don't you try and get some sleep, or are you so not used to me that you can't even fall asleep with me in the bed."

"I can fall asleep just fine," she told him, poking him in the side.

"Oh, so you want to continue to watch me sleep then? Well, I guess if you want to be a creep then I'll just go back to sleep so that you can continue to watch me sleep."

"I don't want that either," she giggled.

"Man, this whole getting used to living with a woman thing is tough," Chris said, his voice sleepy as he was already drifting off to sleep. Stephanie snuggled herself against him, relishing in the warmth permeating off of his body. He unconsciously pulled her tighter against him, and she felt totally safe in that moment.

She woke up the next morning and turned to her clock to see what time it was. Her alarm, as always, was set for 6:30 am, because that's what time she had to be up to make the girl's lunches and their breakfast, and still leave enough time to get the girls ready for school. She checked her clock and was horrified to see that it read 7:13. She sat straight up and gasped.

"Chris, Chris, I have to get up, the girls!" Stephanie said, looking to the other side of the bed, but found it empty. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to see if he was in there. As she entered the doorway, she heard voices coming from downstairs and she went down there only to see that Chris was eating breakfast with Keagan and Ferris. Chris looked up and saw her.

"Hey Steph, did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yeah…I wasn't…expecting you to get them up," she said, walking in a little further.

"Well, I figured you'd be tired from last night and so I turned off your alarm and just woke the girls up myself. I can take them to school too since I've got that meeting with your father."

"You're going to see Grandpa Vince today?" Ferris asked.

"Yup," Chris said, taking a bite of his toast. "Right after I drop you guys off."

"Why are you meeting with him?" Ferris asked another question.

"Oh, he wants me back on television, so I'm going to go talk to him about it and see how I'm going to come back."

"Are you going to be leaving us?" Keagan asked, stricken as she heard the news because she knew that her daddy would leave for long periods of time when he was wrestling. What the little girl didn't know was that Hunter was never JUST wrestling when he was gone for a long time. He would bring his mistress along with him and that's why he was always volunteering for any autograph session or television appearance.

"When I go back, it'll only be for one day a week, no more than that."

Ferris looked down. "Do you have to Chris?"

"What's the matter?" Chris asked the two downtrodden-looking girls.

"It's nothing," Stephanie said, "Their dad just used to go away a lot and they didn't really care for it."

Chris looked at Stephanie and she gave him a pointed look and a little head tilt. Chris suddenly understood that Hunter had gone away a lot, but that he went away for reasons not pertaining to his job. Chris reached out and ruffled Keagan's hair and gave Ferris a playful wink.

"Well, I know that your dad did a lot of wrestling and all of that, but I'm not going to be wrestling, I'll just be like your grandpa is, he talks a lot, right?"

"Yeah, Grandpa talks so much," Keagan said, scrunching up her face to exaggerate her words.

"But your grandpa is always around isn't he?"

Keagan nodded. "Whenever I want to go get ice cream, Grandpa is there and he tells me that he'll take me."

"Yeah, so if I go and talk on the television, I'll only be gone one day because I won't have to go to all of those places."

"Do you promise?" Ferris said. "Because Daddy never promised and then he wouldn't come home and we really missed him. I'll miss you when you go away Chris."

"I'll miss you two Fer, but I will make sure to tell your grandpa that I will only be gone one day a week and that's it. I can work it out so that I fly to wherever I have to go on Monday, and then Tuesday morning, I'll fly back home, and by Tuesday night, I'll be right here and then you'll get me for the rest of the week. And that's a promise."

"Ok," Ferris said, giving him a little bit of a smile as she finished her cereal. "But we should go so that we're not late. Mommy says being late is a very bad habit."

"She's very right," Chris said as he took her bowl and Keagan's bowl to the sink.

"I'll take care of those," Stephanie said as she sat there watching the three of them. "Have a good day at school babies."

Keagan and Ferris rushed at their mother to give her a goodbye hug. Chris waited his turn and leaned down for a kiss. Ferris and Keagan giggled to each other as Stephanie gave them a sharp look, which ceased their giggling, but Stephanie was only joking with them. Chris gathered up their lunches and they got their backpacks as he ushered them out of the room.

Stephanie was by herself then and she thought about the meeting that Chris had with her father this morning. She had mixed feelings about this meeting and Chris's subsequent return to the squared circle. She took a deep breath and decided that the best way to clear her mind was with a nice cup of coffee and Chris had been kind enough to make enough coffee for her. She took out the largest mug she owned and poured the steamy, black liquid into the cup, smelling it and feeling more awake than she had a moment ago. One sip and she was ready for the day.

She sat down again and flipped idly through a magazine that was sitting on the table. This was another thing she'd have to get used to. Even when she and Hunter were married and happy, he never drove the girls to school. It was always her responsibility to get them ready and then drive them. Chris driving them gave her time and she had no idea what to do with this gift of time she had just been given.

She just wanted to keep her mind off of this meeting later though. She didn't know why she had this irrational fear of Chris going back to wrestling. Yet, there was still this uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away. It was nagging at her, pulling at her, and she tried to ignore it so badly. But it was still there.

A short while later, across town at Titan, Chris was pushing the elevator button to the top floor, where Vince's office presided. He leaned against the back wall of the elevator and watched the lights move as he went up to the top floor. He was whistling as he stepped off the elevator and went up to Vince's secretary, telling her that he had an appointment. She sent him right in and Vince nodded in greeting as Chris walked over to the desk.

"Hey Vince, what's up," Chris said, shaking the man's hand.

"Chris, nice to see you again," Vince said cordially. "How are you?"

"I'm great, and yourself."

"Good…good, and how are my girls?"

"Well, I just dropped off Keagan and Ferris at school, and I don't know what Steph is doing right now, but she's at home."

"And how is the new place?"

"It's really nice, I know that Stephanie wants you and Linda over when we get everything set up, as a kind of housewarming thing. But we don't have everything in place right now, so we're holding that off."

"Well, I'm just glad you didn't move far away," Vince said, sitting back down. "So about this comeback…I was thinking about bringing you back as a General Manager or as the Commissioner."

"Either one sounds fine, but I think I'd prefer to be the Raw General Manager, we've been watching the shows, of course, and I know that you recently did a thing where the current GM was ousted, and well, I think I could fit in there."

"Sounds solid."

"The only stipulation I have Vince is that I only work on Mondays and Pay-Per-Views. I promised Keagan and Ferris that I'd only be gone once a week, and I don't want to break that promise to them. You know as well as I do what a rough time they've had."

"I do," Vince said and was secretly glad that Chris was so concerned about his granddaughters. If only Hunter had showed a little more concern. Vince practically snarled as he thought about that bastard and what he had done to his daughter and granddaughters. "And I can go along with that. I trust you out there and I know that you're the last person I would ever need to script a promo for."

"Well great, so just figure out what you want me to do and you can have Stephanie send me the schedule, or you know, she can tell me since she's the head of creative."

"That's what I wanted to discuss, you do need to have a meeting with the creative department, which can be set up now or whenever Stephanie's schedule is free. I don't think it'll be difficult for you to find time to speak with her."

Chris laughed. "No, I don't think so, I see her quite often actually." He looked down at his watch. "I think she should be here soon actually. I'll go see what she's up to."

"Ok, we'll discuss more later, this is still in the developmental stage. We'll really start to get the details done once we get your contract written up."

"Sounds good Vince, I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Chris."

Chris nodded and got up. That was a really short meeting and he wondered if Stephanie was even here yet. He went back to the elevator and pressed the number for a few floors down. He was tapping his foot this time and when the door opened he saw Stephanie actually walking to her office. He walked quickly up behind her, but didn't reveal himself until he caught her around the waist and pulled her towards him. She squealed and turned.

"Chris, you scared the crap out of me," she told him, hand over heart. "Don't do that."

"Couldn't resist," he said, kissing her neck. "You look too beautiful."

"I'm at work," she said coyly. "I'm the boss around here, you shouldn't make me look normal. I have a reputation around here."

"Well how about you get a new reputation?" he growled in her ear.

"Chris," Stephanie said sweetly. "Not gonna happen."

"Damn."

"So how did the meeting go?" Stephanie asked, and she tried to act nonchalant about it so as not to arouse Chris's suspicion.

"It went fine, things look like a go. I just have to meet with head of creative. Any idea who that is?"

"So you're definitely back?"

"I'm definitely back."

There was that feeling again.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: This isn't where I wanted this chapter to go, but I guess the muses have minds of their own. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. :)

* * *

"So I have a very important meeting this morning." 

"Do you?" Stephanie asked coyly as Chris walked past her to get to the coffee pot. "And what kind of meeting is this?"

"A meeting with the head of creative actually," Chris smirked as he poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table where Stephanie was going over bills. "Whatcha doing?"

"Bills," Stephanie said, holding one up as if to show him that was what she was doing.

"Oh," Chris frowned. "You're not paying for those out of your own pocket are you?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm paying for them, they're the house bills," she said as if that was supposed to be completely obvious.

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to help with the bills," Chris said. "When we bought this house we promised that we would split all the costs, right down the middle, so why are you paying the bills?"

"Oh, I didn't know," she shrugged. "I'm just used to taking care of them. I've always been the one to take care of them."

"Well I want to help too."

"So you pay next month's," Stephanie told him. "We'll just alternate months until we come up with something a little more…permanent."

"More permanent than living together?"

"Perhaps," she said noncommittally as she glanced up at him. He was staring at her over his cup of coffee and she gave a shy smile in his direction. "I mean, if that's what you had in mind, not that I'm making any assumptions or demands, I was just thinking about what things might mean…you know."

"You're rambling," he laughed, setting his cup down. He took her left hand in his and kissed the palm. "I get what you're saying, and I think that sometime in the future, it'll be a discussion, but we're not going to go so completely fast that we end up experiencing everything in a blur…deal?"

"Deal," she told him, pulling her hand away. "But in the meantime, unless you want the lights to go out on us, you'll let me finish with the bills."

"Did the girls get off to school okay?"

"Yup, and you're picking them up from school later right?"

"Right," he nodded. "I just have the meeting at Titan and then I'm meeting my manager for a business lunch and the rest of the day is devoted to you and the girls."

"Oh, what's the meeting with your manager about?"

"Just discussing where to take the band next, seeing if there's any pressing issues that I have to take care of, nothing huge or anything. We're going to talk details about me coming back to wrestling and stuff like that, very boring, very mundane business talk."

"Sounds exciting," she told him. "So this meeting at Titan, do you really want to keep the head of creative waiting, or are you planning on going to the meeting in your pajamas?"

"I was hoping to conduct the meeting naked," he winked.

"I'm not sure she'd appreciate that," Stephanie answered. "What makes you think that she wants to have a meeting naked?"

"Well, I was hoping to have it in bed, maybe in the shower, maybe right here on the table."

Stephanie laughed and shook her head at his boldness. "Right here on this table?"

"Right here."

"Where I eat, where my children eat?"

"Well when you put it like that," Chris grimaced. "It makes it sound really gross. Now I don't want to do it on the table so I take back the table. But we have a big, warm bed upstairs that's empty and we could go upstairs and have fun."

"I would love to, really," Stephanie responded. "But I really have to get to the office. I have meetings right after yours so I can't spare the time to have the meeting here. You're going to have to meet me in the offices. Actually, I should be going right now."

"We can't even drive together?" he pouted, jutting his bottom lip out and giving her the puppy, sad eyes.

"And how will I drive around if you have the car all day?" she asked. "Not to mention you're not even dressed yet."

"Okay, okay, you made your point, I'll see you in half an hour?"

"You'll see me in half an hour," she said, rising from her chair and then leaning down to give him a parting kiss. "Love you."

"I love you too," he told her, smiling as he watched her leave the kitchen and grabbing her car keys from the side table where she had dropped them. He drank the rest of his coffee quickly, not wanting to be late for his meeting with Stephanie since she had just said she had other meetings today. He got dressed casually since he was just meeting with Stephanie and not with any of the suits in the company. Before he knew it, he was pulling into the parking garage at Titan and making his way up to Stephanie's office.

"Here I am, on-time and raring to go," Chris said as he pushed open the door to Stephanie's office. He saw Stephanie at her desk with her father speaking to her on the speaker phone. "Oops, sorry Steph."

"It's okay," Stephanie said, waving him off. "Chris just got here Dad, so I'm going to have to let you go. I'll meet with you after my lunch break and we can go over those proposed storylines."

"Oh, that reminds me," Vince said over the phone. "Stephanie, were you going to come back to television as well? I want to know so that you can coordinate both of your debuts. I think that it would be a good dynamic to have the both of you back."

"I haven't really decided yet," Stephanie said hesitantly. "I just worry about the girls if Chris and I are both gone on Mondays."

"Your mother offered to take care of them," Vince reminded her. "It would only be one night a week and then one Sunday every other month, nothing major. You could be co-General Managers and we could have you constantly at odds, like old times."

Chris raised his eyebrow at Stephanie, "Not such a bad idea."

"I'll think about it Dad, I mean, Chris isn't going to be coming back for at least three weeks, at WrestleMania, so I've got a little bit of time to decide if I want to come back. Please don't pressure me."

"I'm not pressuring you Princess. I just would love it if you were back on television where you belong. Keagan and Ferris are both in school now and they can stand to be away from you for one day a week. I think that it would be an outstanding idea."

"I'll think about it," Stephanie said again. "Dad, I really need to have this meeting with Chris, we'll discuss this later."

"Okay Princess, I'll see you later Chris."

Chris and Stephanie both said their goodbyes to the boss and Chris went and sat down in the seat across from Stephanie. She was looking down at some piece of paper for a second, stray hairs from her pinned back hair falling into her face. He watched her for a second, still amazed that he was with her and that she loved him. Not only that, now he was going to be back on WWE television. It was like he was going into the past, but then everything was different at the same time.

"Okay, so let's get down to business," Stephanie said, folding her hands together. "What we know so far is that we're bringing you back as the new Raw General Manager."

"You know, I'd really like it if you came back too."

"Chris…not you too."

"I just don't see why you won't," he told her. "I mean, your dad is right, the girls are in school now and…"

"Look," Stephanie said, her voice harsh. "If I don't want to leave my girls, then that's my decision. You don't know EVERYTHING we've been through since Hunter cheated on me. You've only been around for several months, you don't know what it was like."

Chris was taken aback at her harshness. "I'm sorry Stephanie. Maybe I should come back later."

"Do whatever you want," Stephanie snapped, looking down at her paper.

Chris stood up to leave, watching her for a second, but she refused to look up at him. He scoffed a little at how she was acting and then turned to leave. They had never fought before so this was strange to him and he didn't actually know what to do. He did have things to do, but he hated leaving this with Stephanie angry at him. He didn't want to fight with Stephanie. But what could he do now? He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

"Chris, wait," Stephanie said, and Chris turned to her. "Sit down, please. Let me explain."

"I can do that," Chris said, going and sitting back in the chair.

"I'm scared."

"What are you scared of babe?"

"I'm scared that you're going to go back to wrestling and you're going to find someone else," Stephanie said. "It happened with Hunter. He got injured, he was training to get back into the ring and he met his girlfriend and…left me. Then you come along and you're going back into wrestling and God, the divas are beautiful now and they were then, and ring rats and all of that, and…I'm insecure. Hunter has made me insecure."

Chris sighed and nodded, pushing himself off of his chair and walking around her desk to kneel in front of her. "I love you, you know that."

"Hunter said he loved me too," Stephanie shrugged. "I believed him and he broke me."

"I love you Stephanie, and I'm not Hunter, I can't promise you that we'll be together forever, but I CAN promise you that I would never intentionally break your heart like he did. When you find something good, you don't let go of it. I've been waiting forever for you…not just for you, but for someone to love. I've been waiting forever to find a woman that I can love, and I found it in you. And I'm not going to give up this opportunity."

"I guess Hunter really did do some damage to me," Stephanie said angrily. "He made me this stupid paranoid person and I'm stupid. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry, that bastard you married should be sorry," Chris told her.

"Okay, well, I feel so stupid right now."

"Don't," he told her, leaning up to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. He rested his hands on her knees and then snaked them around her waist, settling himself between her legs. She had to lean down to kiss him, and he pulled away for a moment. "I should get going before this escalates into something more."

"My door locks," Stephanie told him sweetly.

"So you won't do it at the kitchen table, but you'll do it in your office?"

"As long as we're quiet, I don't see the problem. My next meeting isn't for another…" She checked the clock. "Forty-five minutes. I think that we could have a little fun in that amount of time. We'll just say that we were…intensely discussing this new story that we have in mind for you."

"You're still as a devious as the first day that I met you."

Stephanie grinned as Chris rushed to the door and locked it, then walked slowly over to her. He took his shirt off before he reached her, throwing it on the floor somewhere to be found later. She was already out of her jacket and was quickly unbuttoning her blouse as Chris licked his lips lasciviously. He pulled her out of her leather chair and sat down in it, pulling her into a straddling position as she giggled and let him take over the unbuttoning.

"So I'm thinking that my storylines are going to be the best," Chris whispered against her neck.

"Oh, you wish…"

Hours later, Chris was satiated from his earlier encounter with Stephanie and was now waiting outside of his car for the girls to get out of school. He was in sunglasses and had a beanie pulled over his head. He hoped that he didn't look like a stalker or anything. He was just trying to remain inconspicuous from the hoards of fans that he had. He just wanted to pick up the girls and go back home and wait for Stephanie.

The final bell rang and he started to see an almost endless stream of children coming from the open doors of the school, a sea of plaid and white. He recognized Keagan first, who ran to him and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly in greeting. He patted her head as she pulled away and lifted her easily into his arms. She leaned her head on his shoulder comfortably and played with his hair idly.

"Chris, where's Mommy?" Keagan asked.

"Remember, she's at work, why?"

"Because I want to see her," she answered, as if that were the only obvious answer in the world.

"Well, she'll be home soon after we get there, so you don't have to wait too long. Do you know where your sister is?"

"She's coming I bet," Keagan answered with a definitive nod.

Keagan was right as Ferris walked out of the school and bounded her way over to Chris, her braided pigtails waving behind her. She looked so cute and innocent with her big smile, with the two front teeth missing. "Hi Chris."

"Hey Fer, ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Ferris's face slowly changed as she looked at something behind Chris. Chris turned and saw Hunter standing there, hands in pockets, and he actually had the decency to look sheepish.

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked. "I can't believe you actually came here."

"I thought Stephanie picked the girls up," Hunter said.

"We switch off," Chris answered shortly. "So let me ask again, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see the girls again. I realize that last time did not go so well, and I was hoping that Stephanie would let me see them again."

"I'm not Stephanie, she's not here so I'm going to have to say no," Chris answered.

"They're my daughters," Hunter informed him like Chris had suddenly forgotten that he wasn't these girl's father.

"Yeah, and they're not mine and they're in Stephanie's custody…so that means that I can't like legally give them to you right now," Chris told him. "So I guess you're out of luck."

"Who the hell do you think you are Jericho?" Hunter said, stepping closer. Chris looked around, hoping that they weren't making a scene. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass Keagan and Ferris in front of their friends and their friend's parents.

"Look man, this isn't the time or the place to be doing this," Chris said quickly, still glancing around, hoping they weren't noticed. "You can talk with me all you want later, but I'm not going to stand here and let you talk in front of all these people."

"Why? You chicken?" Hunter taunted.

"No, because I'm not going to embarrass myself, and I'm especially not going to embarrass Keags or Ferris in front of their friends. You can insult me later, but I'm not going to do this here or now."

Chris went to unlock his door, but Hunter intercepted him. "You think you're going to steal my family?"

"I'm not stealing anything," Chris said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his composure. Keagan and Ferris did not need to see him acting this way. If Hunter wanted to look like an asshole in front of his daughters, that was his business, but Chris wasn't going to be a part of that. He had to take the high road, no matter how much he wanted to clock Hunter right in the mouth, or that huge nose.

"Oh give me a break. You've always wanted Stephanie haven't you? And now you think that you have her," he said with a sarcastic laugh. "But you aren't going to have her forever, trust me. So enjoy it while it lasts Jericho, because it ain't going to be forever."

"Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?" Chris asked calmly.

"Take it for what you will, but you are not going to last, I'll tell you that right now and you can take that to the bank."

"What do you even know about Stephanie anymore?" Chris asked, still retaining his calm voice. "Stephanie is a beautiful, smart, successful woman and you left that? How can I believe any man that would leave that behind? Now if you'll excuse me, we've got somewhere to be."

Chris walked around Hunter and opened the doors to the car, taking Keagan to the other side of the car. Hunter stared straight forward and rolled his eyes, still leaning against the car. That's when his eyes fell on Ferris, standing there in front of him. Her face was a mask of no expression. She looked like Stephanie he noted and she was giving him the iciest glare.

"Hey there Fer."

"Go away," Ferris said as she walked past him. Hunter touched her shoulder and she turned to him.

"Ferris, things will get better, I'll be around more. I'm sorry that you had to see that."

"No you're not," she told him. "Daddy, do you think I'm smart?"

"I think you're so smart."

"Then don't lie," Ferris told him. "And don't be mean to Chris, I like Chris."

"Fer, come on, we were just talking." Then Ferris said some words that cut through him deeper than anything Chris could've said. And Ferris meant them to the very bottom of her heart. She was tired of her father's false promises and lies. She was tired of the way that he made her mommy feel. She wanted her mommy to marry Chris so Chris would never go away and she knew that her father would only make things harder for her mommy and Chris. Ferris was a smart girl, but she was also very much like Stephanie, down to the hard-nosed way of thinking. She was also a little girl who was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and had seen her mommy cry one too many times. If it was possible for a little girl to lose all respect for her father, then Ferris had lost all respect for hers.

"I wish Chris was my daddy."


	27. Chapter 27

"Hunter, are you sure that you're okay?"

Hunter rolled his eyes and looked at Shayna. "I'm fine, I'm just thinking, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'm just worried about you. You haven't been the same since you went to go see your daughters. I don't know what happened, but I wish that you would tell me."

"What do you want me to say Shay?" Hunter asked her testily. "Do you want me to tell you all about how my daughter yelled at me and then started bawling? Do you want to hear about how she wouldn't hug me at all, and how distant they are from me? Is that what you want to hear?"

Shayna got up and walked over to Hunter, running her hands up his back comfortingly. She leaned her head against his back. "I'm sorry to hear that. I don't wish a bad relationship between you and your daughters. I really don't."

"It's all Chris Jericho's fault," Hunter muttered. "This is all his fault."

"How is it his fault?"

"He's turned my daughters against me!"

"Hunter, maybe he didn't."

"Do you want to meet them?" Hunter asked her suddenly. She widened her eyes. Hunter had never asked her if she wanted to meet his kids. She thought that they were off-limits or something. She didn't want to step on anyone's toes, but she knew that she would love to meet his kids.

"Only if you want me to," Shayna told him. "I don't want to seem like I have to meet them, if you want me to meet them, I'd be happy to meet them."

"Okay, good, I want you to meet them," Hunter nodded. "I definitely think that you should meet them. I can call Stephanie and she could arrange it. I think it would be good. We've been together for a while now, definitely longer than Chris and Stephanie, and they know him, so I think they should know you."

She frowned. "Hunter, do you want me to meet them because you want me to get to know them, or is it because you want to get revenge on Chris for what you conceive as stealing your kids from you?"

"He didn't steal them from me!" he said angrily. "He didn't steal them."

"Of course he didn't," she assured him. "You're still their father, baby, they're still going to need you. They will always need you because you're their Daddy. You just have to reincorporate yourself into their life."

"You're right, thanks for calming me down baby," he said, turning to her. "I do want you to meet them."

She smiled. "I would absolutely love to meet them."

"I'll call Stephanie right now and set it up, the sooner the better because I want them to know what a great woman you are."

She blushed and he kissed her. She was nervous though, deep down inside. She knew that she was "the other woman," and she knew that she was going to carry that moniker for a long time to come. She had to deal with that, and she thought that she was. But then she was going to meet Hunter's kids, and that was huge. She knew that Ferris was really smart, and at the very least, she would probably know what had happened, and that scared her.

Stephanie was sitting on her couch facing Chris, her legs stretched out across his legs as he idly rubbed her shin. They were watching a video with the girls, who were sitting on the floor, completely enraptured by the cartoon that was playing before them. The phone rang and Stephanie reached behind her and grabbed the phone from the side table.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, it's me, Hunter."

"Oh goodie," Stephanie said drolly. "What do you want now?"

"I wanted to see the girls."

"I thought we had this discussion already. The girls don't want to see you right now Hunter. I thought that you understood that. They're going through something right now and you just need to keep your distance."

"I have every right to see them," Hunter argued.

"You're not going to budge on this are you?" Stephanie asked, knowing that this could lead to a major argument.

"No, I'm not, and I want them to meet Shayna. I think that it's only fair that they should get to meet her if they're living with Chris Jericho right now," Hunter told her firmly.

"Sure, whatever," Stephanie answered, shrugging. "What do I care if they meet her? The only problem is that they might not want to see you."

"They're little girls."

"Yeah, but they do have brains," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes at Chris who gave a small laugh. She stuck her tongue out at him and he shook his head and went back to the movie they were watching, which the girls were still engrossed in. "So when do you want to see them?"

"Why are you agreeing so readily?" Hunter asked suspiciously.

"Because I don't want to get into an argument with you, because that's all that seems to happen lately and I'm tired of fighting with you," Stephanie said. "So if you want to see them, I can't say anything about that, you have the right to see them."

"I do," he said, starting to get angry for no reason. He wanted Stephanie to care. He wanted to make her feel something, and he couldn't readily think of the reason why he wanted it so badly.

"Okay then, you can see them tomorrow if you want, or the day after that, they don't have anything planned for those days," Stephanie said. By this time, Chris was watching her, and wondering what Stephanie was talking to Hunter about.

"Tomorrow would be great."

"Well then, tomorrow it is, you can come pick them up at 3:30, does that seem fair?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, good, okay," Hunter said. "I'll see you then."

"Fine, bye," Stephanie said nonchalantly as she hung up. She stared at the phone for a second, wondering how she had managed to stay so calm during that entire conversation. She was pretty impressed with herself. She hadn't flown off the handle or anything.

"What did he want?" Chris asked in a whisper.

"He wants to see the girls, he wants them to meet his girlfriend," she said with a touch of incredulity in her voice.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I'm surprisingly okay with all of it. I don't know, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. I can't ignore her existence for the rest of my life. I'm just contemplating on whether or not I should thank her for sleeping with my husband since it led me to you," Stephanie flirted. Chris blushed a little bit and she found it so adorable she felt compelled to sit up fully so that she could kiss him.

"Mommy, Chris you're not watching the movie!" Keagan complained loudly. "You should watch!"

"We were watching sweetie," Stephanie said as she pulled away from Chris. "I just got distracted for a second."

"Well you shouldn't," Keagan told her and then turned back. "See Mommy, now it's over and you missed the end."

"Well, I'll just watch it again later and then I'll know exactly what happened, but before I do that, I just got off the phone with your dad…"

"We know Mommy, we could hear you," Ferris said.

Stephanie gave her a stern look, but then smiled to show that she was joking. "Well, he wants you to meet his girlfriend, and he wants to see you tomorrow--"

"I don't want to go," Ferris said quickly.

"Fer, he's your dad, you have to want to see him a little bit."

"No, I saw him already, I don't want to see him again," she said, raising her voice. "I just don't Mommy."

"Ferris, he's your dad."

"I just don't want to!" Ferris yelled, and then got up and stormed out of the room. Stephanie sighed and closed her eyes, thinking for a few moments.

"I should go after her," Stephanie said, beginning to get up. "I need to talk to her about all of this. She's really been affected by Hunter's behavior."

"Hey, how about I see what I can do?" Chris asked. "You and Keags can start dinner or something."

"Chris, maybe I should…"

"No, really, let me, I think that I can say some things that you can't really say."

"You don't have to."

"I want to though," Chris said, getting up. He kissed Stephanie briefly before going off in search of Ferris.

Ferris was sitting on the swing outside by herself. She painted quite the pathetic picture, sitting there all alone. For such a normally quiet girl, she was so headstrong and stubborn. He smiled about that though, because it was so like her mother. She was just like Stephanie. She wouldn't have been surprised if he asked Vince or Linda what Stephanie was like as a child and heard that she was exactly like Ferris.

"Mind if I join you?" Chris asked as he walked over to her.

"Okay."

He sat down on the swing next to her, hoping it wouldn't break under his weight. They sat there together in silence while they each thought about things. Chris didn't want to just rush into the conversation he knew they were going to have to have. He simply felt bad for Ferris because she understood the situation and she knew how hard it was. No little girl should have that kind of knowledge; it was too powerful.

"You know…when I was little, my dad wasn't around that much," Chris started.

"Were your parents divorced too?"

"No, but he was a hockey player so he was always gone."

"Oh."

"I missed him a lot…I bet that after your dad left, you missed him a lot huh?" Ferris didn't say anything, but she nodded silently, and almost imperceptibly. Chris pursed his lips. "I thought so. And you're mad because he didn't come visit, huh?"

"And cause he made Mommy cry," Ferris confessed.

"Yeah, I know," Chris said. "And you didn't like it?"

"No, I didn't. I don't like that he made Mommy cry. He didn't have to make her cry! I don't like seeing Mommy cry."

"Neither do I," Chris agreed readily. "And I'm giving to make sure that your mommy isn't going to cry anymore."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You know maybe you should let your dad see you," Chris told her carefully, not knowing how she'd react. When she didn't seem nonplussed, he continued, "When you get older, you might want to have this time with him."

"Why?"

"Well, because he's your dad, and just because he hurt you, Keags, and your mommy doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a second chance."

"But I have you," she reasoned.

"You DO Have me, but I'm not your daddy."

"I wish you were," she lamented.

"But I bet you had a lot of good times with your daddy, huh?" I bet he took you place and I bet you had fun."

"But then he left."

"Yeah, but that doesn't' meant that it didn't happen. Sometimes people deserve to have second chances."

"But why?"

"When you grow up you'll understand why. But you might be upset that you never got a chance to know him when you're older."

"I have you," she repeated.

"Fer, I'm not your daddy."

"But you like it," she told him. "You act like my daddy."

"Fer, you know I love you right?"

"Uh huh."

"I would love to be your daddy, but you have one already and he's not just going to go away because you don't want to see him. You might not think that he cares about you, but I bet that he does care a lot about you. You just have to see him and talk to him, and let him back into your life."

"But what if he leaves again?" she asked. "He already left before."

"Well, that's a chance we have to take. Sometimes, people have to take chances, even when thinks might turn out bad. I took a chance and asked your mommy out, and look what it got me, a lot of good things. If you give your dad a chance, you might get a lot of good things out of it."

"Like presents?" she asked innocently.

"Well, sure, there could be presents involved," he laughed. "The fact is, when you're older, you're going to wish that you had more time with your dad, and you should give him that chance."

"Do you like my daddy Chris?" Ferris asked him earnestly.

"Your daddy and I have had a lot of…arguments," he said, trying to say it in a way that didn't make him sound like he hated Hunter (which he did). "And I don't like that he made you and Keags sad, or that he made your mommy cry. But then, if he weren't around, I wouldn't have gotten to be around such cool kids, which you and Keags are, so I like him for that."

Ferris smiled shyly. "Daddy used to read to me before bedtime, and not baby books, big kid books. I liked that…"

"Sounds like he knew you were really smart."

She shrugged. "What if I don't like his girlfriend?"

"Well, you have that right," Chris said. "So does this mean that you're going to see him?"

"I guess," she told him.

"If you have a really bad time, I'll take you to the library or somewhere else that you want to go."

"Chris, Mommy says that bibey."

"I think she meant bribery," Chris told her. "But we'll keep it our little secret okay?"

Ferris jumped off her swing and went to Chris's side and hugged him tightly. "I love you Chris."

"I love you too, so come on, let's go inside."

"Okay!" Ferris yelled, running off into the house, Chris following behind her, but definitely at a slower pace. Chris walked inside and saw Ferris going off in the direction of the playroom. Stephanie was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a magazine. She looked up at Chris and then in the direction that Ferris had gone off to.

"She said she'd be fine with seeing Hunter tomorrow," Stephanie told him. "What the hell did you say to her?"

"I just reasoned with her," he said. "It was between me and her, and you don't need to know."

"She didn't even seem too upset about seeing him."

"Well, I do have special powers," Chris said smugly.

"Apparently you're Superman now," Stephanie laughed. "So he's coming over here…you think he's going to bring…her? Or is he just going to pick them up and then bring them to wherever…she is?"

"You want to meet her huh?"

"Well, I do think it's about time I see the woman who broke up my marriage."


	28. Chapter 28

"Do you think that she's prettier than me?"

"I don't think anyone is prettier than you?"

"Chris, there must be someone that you think is prettier than me!" she protested.

"If there were, don't you think that I would be with them?"

"Okay, so you've got a point. But do you think that's the reason he got with her, because he though she was prettier? I've had two kids, she's had none, she probably has a better body, wait, she's a physical therapist, she MUST have a better body."

"I think that you have a great body."

"But you haven't seen this woman's body. I bet its all toned and stuff. I bet that's why he slept with her."

"Or maybe he's a jackass who doesn't know that he had the best of the best," he told her. "I've seen you naked, so I know that you've got it going on."

She giggled and snuggled into his side a little bit more. It was the early morning hours and Stephanie had been up for a while. Chris had woken up when Stephanie had accidentally kicked her. Hunter would be seeing the girls today, and they were meeting his girlfriend, and Stephanie might be meeting her too. No, Stephanie SHOULD meet her, her daughters were going to be around this woman, she should meet her if she was going to influence her girls.

"I hope you realize that I'm just curious, I'm not dwelling," she told Chris, tilting her head back to look up at him. "I'm not like wondering if I could be like her, would Hunter take me back. I'm not wondering that at all."

"I know," he responded, kissing her forehead. "I mean, it's natural to be curious about it. It altered your life."

"Way to get dramatic there," Stephanie said a she heard the door creak open. Keagan's head popped into the room and she looked at her mommy. "Hey sweetie, did we wake you up?"

"Uh uh," Keagan said, her tone unusually hushed, but she was always quieter in the morning. "I just woke up and I got bored, can I lie with you guys."

"Hop on up kiddo," Chris said, patting the spot between him and Stephanie. Keagan grinned and raced towards the bed, making a flying leap onto the comforter and crawling her way up to Stephanie and Chris. Chris held the covers up for her and she hunkered down into the mattress with them, leaning against Stephanie, who wrapped the little girl up in her arms until they seemed to be one person. "So what are you doing up so early?"

"I was thinking about Daddy," she explained to Chris. "I wonder where he's taking us."

"I have no clue sweets," Stephanie answered, "but I bet it'll be a lot of fun."

"Ferris said I'm gonna see his girlfriend, is that true Mommy?" Keagan asked, craning her neck to look up at Stephanie.

"Yeah, you are going to meet her."

"Why?"

"Well, you know Chris right?" Keagan nodded eagerly and sent Chris a big smile. "Well, Daddy thinks it wouldn't be fair if you knew Chris and didn't know his girlfriend."

"What if I don't like her Mommy, what if she's a big, ugly monster and she's scary?" Keagan asked fearfully. "Mommy what if she's a monster!"

Stephanie laughed at her little girl's fears. She wished that she could live in a world where her biggest problem was whether or not someone was a monster. "I don't think she's a monster, sweets. Do you think that Daddy would date a monster?"

"No, I guess not," Keagan said logically. "But what if I don't like her?"

"You don't have to like her Keags," Stephanie answered. "That's up to you, but you should at least give her a chance. You gave Chris a chance right?"

"But Chris helped me find you when I was lost," Keagan said. "I have to like him."

Chris laughed and Stephanie sent him a look. "Well then I have to like him too because he helped me find you. But maybe you'll like Shayna, just give her a chance okay?"

"When is Daddy coming?" Keagan asked.

"Well, I talked to Daddy again and we agreed that you would get to spend the entire day with him. So he's picking you up at 10:00."

"When's that Mommy?" Keagan asked, not seeing a clock anywhere around her.

"It's in about two hours, sweets."

"That's long," she said.

"Not so long."

It wasn't that long as two hours seemed to pass rather quickly. But there was much to be done before Hunter and his girlfriend arrived. The girls had to be dressed and fed and Stephanie took the liberty of packing a backpack for each that would take care of any necessities they'd need for the day. She also packed a few extras, like a bathing suit, just in case Hunter was taking them somewhere with a pool. By the time everything was set up and taken care of, there was a ring of the doorbell that pierced through the house. Ferris looked nervously up at Chris who was adjusting the straps of her backpack.

"Chris…do I really have to go?"

"You don't REALLY have to go, but I think it'd mean a lot for your dad if you did go," he told her.

"You're lying," she said with a smirk.

"What is it with the McMahon women being able to see right through me?" he asked playfully.

"We're good," Ferris said, repeating something she had heard her mother say to Chris before. Chris shook his head and handed her backpack back to her. She put it on, and smiled appreciatively at him. "Thank you Chris."

"You're welcome."

Stephanie walked to the door, Keagan close behind her as she took a deep breath. She opened the door and was greeted by Hunter and his girlfriend. It was the first good look he had gotten of her…ever. She wasn't looking directly at Stephanie, instead she was looking to the side, extremely uncomfortable by the entire thing. Stephanie stood there silently for a moment, sizing up the other woman unabashedly.

She didn't know what she was expecting, but Shayna didn't look like a horrible person. She just looked like…a person. Someone Stephanie would pass by on the street and not think twice about. She looked nice enough, not like someone who would willfully break up a marriage. But she didn't know this woman so she shouldn't make conjectures like that. Shayna was extremely embarrassed and she wanted to wait in the car, but Hunter had insisted she come to the door with her.

"Hunter," Stephanie said shortly, but politely.

"Stephanie, are the girls ready?"

"Just a sec," Stephanie said, pushing Keagan forward. "One is."

"Hey Keags."

"Hi," Keagan said shyly, a little wary of the woman standing next to Hunter.

"This is Shayna," Hunter said, crouching down to her level.

"Hi," Keagan said, and she was being very quiet, which was a bad sign for Keagan, who was usually bouncing off the walls at any given moment.

"Did you want to come in?" Stephanie asked, trying to be the bigger person at the moment. She didn't care about Shayna or whatever her name was because she had Chris, but it was still a little weird, but how could it not be?

"No, I think we're good," Hunter said, standing up and taking Keagan's hand. He then grudgingly said, "Thanks for letting me see the girls."

"It was fine," Stephanie said. She stood there a few moments more and just decided to get things over with before it got to her any more than it was. She stuck her hand out towards Shayna and looked the woman squarely in the eye. "Hi, I'm Stephanie."

Shayna looked a little taken aback by Stephanie's bold gesture. She looked to Hunter in shock for a moment before turning back to Stephanie. She thought this might be a trick, that Stephanie would pull her hand back at the very last moment and laugh in her face. But nonetheless, she stuck her hand out and shook Stephanie's hand. Stephanie had an unusually firm grip and she pulled away quickly.

"Shayna," she answered succinctly. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," Stephanie said, feeling the politeness starting to wear a little thin. She glanced behind her and saw Chris coming out with Ferris and she smiled in relief that this torture would be over soon. "Oh, here comes Ferris."

"Yeah, here she comes," Chris said, pushing Ferris towards Hunter. She gave a worried glance back to Chris and he gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder that did not go unnoticed by Hunter. Chris walked to Stephanie and wrapped his arm around her waist out of habit and looked to Shayna. "Hi, I'm Chris Jericho."

"I know who you are," Shayna said, her voice a squeak. "I have all your CD's."

"Great," Chris said, giving her a smile.

"Well, have fun girls," Stephanie said, bending down to hug Keagan and Ferris. "And don't get into too much trouble alright. I don't want to get a call from the cops telling me my daughters are rowdy and unruly."

"Yeah, come back in one piece," Chris said, giving them each a hug as well, and Hunter noted jealously how they seemed to hug him extra tight. Chris smiled at each of them before they walked off with Hunter and Shayna. Stephanie and Chris watched until their car disappeared around the corner and Stephanie closed the door. "So?"

"She was normal, like surprisingly normal. She wasn't a knockout like I was expecting. Should I feel worse that he didn't get a knockout or better because I know that I'm just as pretty as she is and yet Hunter still left me for her?"

"You shouldn't feel either," Chris told her. "She wasn't anything special…and the whole 'I have all your CD's' thing was a little overkill if you ask me."

"You're just trying to appease me now," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I don't know what we're going to do with ourselves. I really don't."

"We'll figure something out."

In the car, Keagan and Ferris were sitting quietly in the backseat. Keagan was looking out the window at the passing trees and Ferris was looking at her hand intently. Hunter glanced back every so often but didn't know how to make any conversation with them. It was like they were foreigners and he didn't speak the same language that they did. They were strangers to him and that bugged him to no end. He hated that Chris freaking Jericho knew more about his daughters than he did.

He looked to Shayna, but she was sitting there just as nervously. He poked her in the leg and she looked up at his curiously. He nodded his head towards the backseat and she shrugged. He did the gesture a little harder, trying to make his point and Shayna bit her bottom lip a little bit. She didn't have too much experience with children and these weren't just any children. They were her boyfriend's daughters and she really, really wanted them to like her.

She turned towards the backseat and took a shallow breath. "So Keagan, Ferris, those are really pretty names, I've never liked my name."

"I like my name!" Keagan said. "Mommy said she chose it because it was different."

"It is," Shayna said, looking at the younger of the two girls. "It's very pretty. You too Ferris, you know what your name reminds me of?"

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Ferris answered before she could say anything else.

Shayna's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Chris told me, he calls me Bueller sometimes," Ferris said, smiling at the thought of Chris. "It's funny."

"Yeah, it is," Shayna said awkwardly. "So I think we're going to have a lot of fun today. Your dad and I planned a bunch of fun activities. Do you like museums?"

"I don't know."

"Well this museum we're going to has lots of fun science activities and it's very kid-friendly. I think you'll like it. It's very educational, I heard that you're really smart. You'll probably have a blast."

"That sounds a little fun," Ferris said, cracking the smallest of smiles.

Shayna felt proud that she had gotten the girl to smile. "Yeah, and then we'll have a fabulous lunch and then do whatever the wind takes us to do."

Keagan giggled. "The wind doesn't do anything."

"Well, we can see if it does," Shayna said.

"So Ferris, how's school?" Hunter asked, hoping that she would open up to him now that Shayna had kind of broken the ice with the two girls.

"Fine," Ferris answered curtly. She knew that she had told Chris she would give her father a second chance, but it wasn't going to be easy. Besides if she wasn't nice to him, he probably wouldn't tell Chris and Chris wouldn't get mad at her. She kind of liked Shayna though, but her father was still a sore spot for her. "Shayna?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you live with my daddy?" Ferris asked.

"Oh…well…yeah, yeah I do."

"Do you have any kids?"

"Nope, none, but I'm kind of hoping that we can be good friends," Shayna answered. "If that's okay with you and everything, and if it's okay with your mommy--"

"And Chris," Keagan added innocently.

"Yeah…Chris too," Shayna said, glancing briefly at Hunter whose jaw was set tight. She reached out and grabbed his thigh, giving it a squeeze. "So you guys like Chris huh?"

"Yeah!" Keagan said. "Chris is funny, he's like the funniest person ever. And you know what?"

"What?"

"He got rid of ALL the monsters in my room!" Keagan said in awe. "All of them, and I didn't even have to do anything!"

"Wow, he sounds like a really nice guy."

"He is," Ferris said, looking pointedly at Hunter. "We like him a lot. He makes Mommy smile and I like that. But you're nice too Shayna."

"Really, you think so?" Shayna asked, touched.

"Yeah," Ferris said, and she actually meant it. Shayna was being really nice and she couldn't help but like her. Of course, to Ferris's child-like mind, she didn't realize that this cut the knife deeper for Hunter. But it did, it cut so deep he felt like he was bleeding.

It was going to be a long day.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. I hope that you continue to enjoy it after the storyline that is coming up soon. ;)

I'd also like to thank the people who really helped with this story recently, especially Jodi who ALWAYS reassures me that every stupid idea I have is a good one, even when I think it's totally bad and shouldn't even be written, and Joanna (TakerTakeMe), who also helped with parsing out this story when I couldn't think of some of the particulars.

* * *

"Did I tell you what Ferris told me the other day?" Chris asked Stephanie. Stephanie, who had her head resting against Chris's hard chest shook her head and then went back to listening to his heartbeat. "She told me that she wished I was her father." 

Stephanie laughed. "She did?"

"Yeah, it just really struck me how…in their lives I am now," Chris said.

"You just jumped right in…" Her voice trailed off as she thought for a moment. She tensed up for a moment and Chris felt it against him. He looked down at her and she seemed frozen in thought, the skin between her eyebrows crinkled together. She was looking down, and he wanted to think she was looking at his pants, but she was staring right through him, through the couch, through everything.

"Steph, you okay?"

Stephanie shook her head and looked up. "I was just thinking. Something hit me just now that I had forgotten about."

She had spoken before she had thought about what she was saying. She hadn't meant to say that, but she had been thinking about something that had just hit her in that moment. It was funny sometimes how you pushed events and memories into the back of your mind, and then one day, they just spring forth at the silliest and most inopportune moments. This was one of those times, except the event that she had just recalled.

"What did you remember?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "I just remembered that I think Ferris has a parent-teacher thing coming up, just to alert the parents about the progress and stuff that they're doing. I wouldn't want to forget that because Ferris, you know, she skipped ahead and I want to make sure it isn't too advanced for her."

"That makes a lot of sense, although if she was put back into her old class, she'd get bored again. They should have half classes for this kind of thing," he joked, but she wasn't laughing. Instead, she was thinking about Ferris.

"Ferris is smart, I'm sure that she's doing great," Stephanie said absently, thinking about how her daughter was so advanced for her age. "Were you smart when you were younger?"

"I pulled good grades," he told her. "I was constantly reading though, my parents have video tapes of me sitting in the pool just reading, sitting under trees, reading, and everywhere else reading."

"Ferris likes to read too," Stephanie said.

"I know, I take her to the library all the time, she's going to run out of books by the time she's ten," Chris told her. "But that's a good thing Steph, she's smart and studious, and if she keeps this up, she'll be graduating high school early."

"Don't even make me think about my little girl leaving," Stephanie responded. "It's bad enough they're with Hunter right now, I don't want to think about them going off into that big, bad world. Although both Ferris and Keagan have expressed desire to work for WWE. Ferris is more into the whole writing aspect while Keagan just wants to ring the bell, but I'm sure she'll think of something a little more challenging to do."

Chris laughed. "But we always do need someone to ring the bell, so never count that out. That's got to be a great job, just ringing the bell and keeping the time."

"Yeah, until you get out there and do it…so you were speaking of your parents, I'm assuming they know about us."

"Us as in us, you and me? Or us as in you and the girls?" he asked.

"Both."

"I couldn't let them find out through the tabloids. I think that I owe my parents a little more respect than to let them find out their son is dating someone seriously through the written word of the press. Of course I called them and told them all about you and all about Ferris and Keagan and they're very happy that I seem to be settling down finally. They had lost all hope, but well, I'm a rock-star, they understood."

"What are you parents like?"

"Hey, now that you mention it, my mom skipped two grades and she graduated valedictorian of her high school class when she was sixteen. So she was smart, I guess that's where I got my love of reading from."

"Do you think they'd like us?" Stephanie asked him innocently. "I mean, we are a big part of your life right? They should know us right?"

"You three are a big part of my life. You're the biggest part of my life right now. I love all three of you so much, you should know that."

"I know that," she told him, "Chris, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"It has to do with the future, is that okay with you?"

"Go ahead, spit it out."

"Do you want kids? Like lay it on the table right now, do you want to have children with me?"

"Right now?"

"No, I mean, in general, do you want children with me?"

"Yeah, I do want children with you. And my parents would be really happy if that happened. But even if we don't, we still have Ferris and Keagan and that's fine too. My parents will love them like they were my own. In the event that you don't want children or we don't have any or something. Totally your call."

Stephanie laughed softly as she thought about what Chris's parents were like and if they'd like her and girls. Her mind wandered towards her daughters again. She missed them terribly and they had only been gone for several hours. She had the urge to see them though. She wanted to talk to them, but she wanted to see them even more. She really just wanted to look at her daughters.

"You miss the girls huh?" Chris said, picking up instantly at her mood.

"Yeah, I do, am I that obvious?"

"It's just really quiet without them here, I'm used to spending the day with them."

"Do you think they're having fun?"

"I have no idea, but they should be home soon," Stephanie said. "Hunter said that he wasn't going to keep them until they fell asleep or anything, so I figure he's keeping them until they can eat dinner. Then they'll be home."

"So…uh, what do you want to do until they get here?" Chris asked, wiggling his eyebrows and licking his lips as he let his eyes roam over her body. She blushed a little under his scrutiny, but still let him lead her upstairs.

A few hours later, and Chris and Stephanie were just lounging in bed together, watching television. She had her robe tied languidly around her, a tank top underneath and her pajama pants riding low on her hips. She was leaning, watching Chris intently as he watched television. He would look over at her occasionally but didn't say anything as she would just smile at him. The doorbell rang and she jumped out of bed happily and practically flew down the stairs to the front door, swinging it open.

"There are my girls!" Stephanie said excitedly as she knelt down and was engulfed by her little girls. "Were you good today?"

"They were," Hunter confirmed from behind her. She gave him a tentative smile. "Thanks for letting me take them out."

"No problem. Don't be a stranger," she told him and he left with a nod. She watched him walk off, his hands in his pockets as she pushed the door closed. She turned her attention to Ferris as she eyed her critically. "Let me look at you."

She took in her daughter. She just took in her wavy, long brown hair, her stunningly blue eyes and her slightly crooked smile that said mischief, but hardly meant mischief. She stared at her for a good long moment before pushing Ferris's hair behind her ears. Ferris looked at her strangely for a moment.

"Mommy, why are you staring at me?" she asked.

"I just missed you is all."

"I didn't do anything to my face," she said, confused by her mother's behavior. Her mother had never stared at her for so long in this strangely intense fashion.

"I know sweets, I just missed you so much and I couldn't wait to see your pretty face, and now here it is and it feels like I haven't seen you in forever, and I just wanted to memorize your face."

"It's the same as it was this morning," Ferris pointed out.

"I know it is sweets, but that doesn't mean I can't miss it," she said, looking at the little girl who looked like her.

"Mommy, don't you want to look at me too!" Keagan asked as she stood next to her sister. Stephanie looked over at her and smiled at the little girl who was grinning at her. Stephanie hugged Keagan tightly as Keagan buried her head into Stephanie's shoulder. Chris came walking down the staircase and Ferris saw him.

"Hey Chris!" Ferris said, going over and giving him a hug. Stephanie couldn't keep her eyes off the picture they made and thought back to how Ferris had said she wished that Chris was her father. She wondered if that was still true after the day she had spent with Hunter.

"Hey there kiddo, how did your day go?"

"Can we watch the TV and talk about it?" she asked. "Daddy took us out to dinner already and I just want to watch TV, is that okay?"

"If it's okay with your Mommy," Chris said, gesturing towards Stephanie.

Stephanie nodded. "I'm going to get Keagan to bed anyways, then maybe I'll join you guys."

"Why do I have to go to bed?" Keagan asked, arms folded, but the yawn she gave after she finished her sentence gave credence as to why she needed to go to bed. Stephanie laughed and picked her up, intending to bring her upstairs. She passed by Chris who smiled at her and she couldn't help but watch as he and Ferris made their way to the living room.

A few minutes later, Chris and Ferris were settled on the couch. Ferris was tucked neatly against Chris's side as she rested her head against him. "So did you have fun today?"

"Shayna was nice," Ferris told her. "I don't know about Daddy though, he didn't talk much. Shayna talks a lot though, and she talked about you a lot. She likes you."

"That's flattering."

"Yeah, but it was fun…Chris, Mommy was acting weird when we came home."

"Weird how?" he asked.

"She kept staring at me, it was weird," Ferris said, making a face. "Do you know why she was staring?"

"I think it was just because she missed you guys today. She's not used to spending an entire day without you so she just wanted to see you again."

"But she was staring, that's weird," Ferris said again. "But I don't know, I guess she was just looking at me. Chris, do I have to like my Daddy now?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Since I had to spend the day with him. Am I supposed to like him now because he's here? Or is it still okay that I'm kind of mad at him? I don't know."

"It's okay to feel mad at him, he wasn't here for a long time, but it's also okay if you had a good time with him today. It doesn't mean that you love your mom any less or that you're any less mad at your dad for what he did. All it means is that you had a good time with your dad and that's a good thing."

"Why is that a good thing? You live with us now," she pointed out and in her mind, she thought that Chris living with her now would solve all of their problems. Like he was just going to sweep in and make them all forget about Hunter, which was nearly impossible.

"Yeah, and I love living with you guys, but you also have to remember that he's your dad and he's going to be in your life forever. And if he's spending time with you, that means he wants to be around you. And if he wants to be around you, that means you'll see him more and maybe you won't be so angry with him."

"But he lives in California," Ferris told Chris. "That's a long ways away and he doesn't even live near here anymore."

"That's true, but that doesn't mean that he can't come visit you when he's here, or come here just to visit you and maybe someday in the future, you can go visit him in California, if that's what you want to do."

"No," she shook her head firmly. "I don't want to do that."

"Okay, well, why don't we just watch the TV and we won't talk about this anymore," Chris said, sensing a fight. Ferris was just like Stephanie in that respect. They could get so easily riled up and then you just had to stand back from the explosion. Stephanie was like a stick of dynamite, you lit her fuse and watched her blow up. It was a little nice to see that the next generation was the same way.

Ferris leaned against Chris, content to end their discussion and just watch television together. She was happier with Chris because she didn't have to be on careful watch with him. He lived here and when she woke up, he would still be here. Her relationship with Hunter was tentative at best, and at worst, he would disappear from their lives again. She didn't exactly want that, but she knew that she could fall back on Chris; she knew that he'd be there.

Stephanie came down a short while later, after tucking Keagan safely into her bed. She stood in the doorway a little as she observed her daughter and Chris. Ferris had fallen asleep at Chris's side, her hair falling loosely over her face as she snored lightly. She just looked at the two of them together and her heart contracted a little and her stomach dropped a little bit as well.

Remembering had never been such a drag.


	30. Chapter 30

Stephanie fiddled with her thumbs a little bit more as she sat on the couch in her living room. Ferris and Keagan were doing homework and watching television, respectively, and Chris was upstairs working on some new songs. So she was sitting here, playing with her thumbs and staring up at the ceiling. She had been at this for a couple of hours now, but she didn't feel like doing anything else. She'd have to start dinner soon, or call for something, but she wasn't in the mood for that.

She was just thinking, just thinking about things, her life, everything that had culminated up until this point. She hadn't seen herself here, had never had occasion to see herself here, but what could she do now? She liked her life, and she liked most of the decisions that she had made with it. She placed her hands on her stomach, still staring up at the ceiling as she heard the soft guitar melody that Chris was playing and she frowned a moment, Chris's studio room was sound-proof so she shouldn't be able to hear him.

She leaned her head back and saw Chris in the doorway, guitar in his hand, playing softly and he smiled at her. She melted then, she couldn't help it. She sat up and he came over, ceasing his strumming and placed the guitar up against the couch as he sunk into it. Stephanie cuddled up to his side and entwined their fingers together.

"You were so zoned out," Chris pointed out.

"I was thinking about how the girls saw Hunter the other day," Stephanie answered, her voice muffled by Chris's t-shirt.

"And? What about it?"

"You know, I always gave people the impression that Hunter and I had a happy marriage before he cheated on me, but that wasn't true," she said quietly. Chris narrowed his eyes and stared at the top of her head for a second.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We weren't always happy, we weren't always…good…" her voice trailed off.

"Well every relationship has its rough spots, we're bound to go through them ourselves, it happens in all relationships."

"No, I mean, the thing is, well…I just…"

"Spit it out Steph," Chris prodded.

"Things weren't always peachy between Hunter and me," Stephanie repeated, her lips brushing against his t-shirt. "We actually separated one time."

"You did?" Chris asked, surprised by this revelation. "When?"

"Before Ferris was born, we had been married for like a year and all of a sudden, he comes to me and tells me that he doesn't think he can be with me anymore and then he tells me he wants a separation."

"What an ass," Chris muttered. "Did you have any idea?"

"No, none, it was directly out of the blue, I thought we were happy and then suddenly he's telling me that he wants to see other people, that he's not happy in our relationship anymore and he thinks that there's someone else out there."

"Damn."

"Yeah, basically what happened was he had met a girl and he wanted to cheat on me but because he didn't want to think of it as cheating, he said he wanted a separation because he wanted to sleep with her."

"I can't believe he would do that!" Chris said, sitting up a little bit more. "He wants to mess around with some girl so he tells you he wants a separation, that's such bullsh--"

"Chris, please, calm down, the girls are going to hear you and they're going to come in here and wonder what's wrong," Stephanie told him, putting a placating hand on his stomach. "I just wanted to tell you about this because it's been on my mind lately. I had almost completely forgotten it in the ensuing years, but it just suddenly rushed back to me last week and I don't know why."

"Hopefully not because you think I'm going to do the same thing," Chris told her.

"No, nothing like that," she said uneasily, "I was just thinking about it, the things that pop into your brain that you've forgotten."

"So how long were you separated?"

"Not even a month," Stephanie answered. "It was so short, he told me that he just didn't feel right with anyone but me, and I had been so miserable without him that I took him back, no questions asked. Maybe that was stupid of me in hindsight, but I loved him so much I was willing to forgive him."

"For basically cheating on you?" he asked.

"Well, you don't, I was just, I needed him," she said, her voice cracking a little bit. "I needed him so much and I just forgave him because of that."

"What about you? Did you see anyone while you were separated?"

"Huh?" she asked, her head turning up to look at him in something that could be construed as confusion, like she didn't know what he was asking even thought it was a rather simple question.

"Don't tell me you spent that entire time pining away for him?" Chris asked. "You're Stephanie McMahon, that's not what you do. If anything, you would go out with a guy just to spite Hunter and show him what he was missing."

"Is that what I'd do?" she asked playfully, not taking on the serious tone she had just used.

"That's what I'd like to think that you'd do," Chris told her. "You're headstrong, you're fearless, there's no way you should be sitting somewhere waiting and hoping for your husband to come back to you. That's not you Steph, I'd hate to ever think that was you."

She smiled at his description of her. She liked the way he saw her because sometimes that wasn't the way that she saw herself. No, sometimes she didn't feel strong even though she knew she had been in dealing with everything her life had thrown at her the past few years. But to know that she elicited such a review from her boyfriend was special and nice.

"So the question again was?"

"Did you see anyone while you had this bogus separation?" he asked again.

She nodded lightly a little bit, a shy smile gracing her face. "Very brief, like, very, very brief, like one date type thing if you could call it a date."

"I knew it," Chris said and Stephanie's face blanched.

"Knew what?" she croaked out, her eyes searching his. "What do you know Chris?"

"I knew that you had to do something to get back at that bastard that you were married to," Chris said with a smirk. "Please tell me he knew that you had gone out with someone, PLEASE tell me you threw it in your face, I would love it if you did that."

"No, actually," Stephanie said, sighing in relief. "He didn't know anything specific, I guess, I mean, he knew I went out with someone, but you know, I didn't like throw it in his face. It just kind of happened."

"Cool," Chris said. "What did he say?"

"He was shocked, I know that much," Stephanie said, thinking back to that time in her life. "I guess later on he just figured asking for a separation was too much and decided to take the plunge and just cheat on me. I wasn't worth the effort the second time around."

"Oh Steph," Chris whispered, running his fingers through her long, brown locks. "You're totally worth the effort. So…if I can pry, who was the guy?"

"What?" Stephanie gasped.

"The guy, the one you went out with, was he in the company or just some random Joe that you happened to meet on the street?"

"He was someone in the company," she answered hesitantly, "but I don't really want to talk about it anymore, if that's okay with you, is that okay with you Chris?"

"Sure, but can I at least know why?"

"It's just…it's really complicated," Stephanie told him. "Don't worry, it's not anyone that you're friends with so you don't even have to be uncomfortable around someone that you know. It's just…I'd rather not discuss it because it was so long ago and it doesn't bear repeating."

"If you say so," Chris said, knowing that Stephanie really did want to drop the subject. He loved her enough to trust that she was telling him the truth. Even though he was curious, more from just being a nosy guy, he respected her wishes.

"So what were you working on?"

"Nothing, just a few songs I was thinking about."

"You sounded nice when you were playing earlier," she told him, glad that he let her change the subject. She just wasn't comfortable talking about that any more than she had to. He grinned happily.

"Thanks, that was a little something that I was working on, you inspired it," he said sheepishly.

She looked down and smiled. "I better get started on dinner."

"Okay," he said, kissing her before she got up and went into the kitchen. He was still curious about this whole separation thing that Stephanie and Hunter had had. He was still with the company at the time, but he had never heard anything about it. They had been really good at hiding it apparently. He wished he had known because he definitely would've asked Stephanie out if he had gotten the opportunity.

He laughed to himself a little bit. It would've been crazy if he had asked out Stephanie and they had gotten together back then. Maybe then Ferris and Keagan would really be his daughters and Stephanie never would've had to go through any of the pain that she suffered through while she was with Hunter. He wished he had gotten that chance though and whoever that guy was that had gotten the chance was really lucky.

He was still thinking about it later that evening as he lay in bed waiting for Stephanie to finish checking on the girls and making sure they were settled in for the night. He just couldn't help that it piqued his interest so much. He was just really curious to know who the guy was. Was it someone like Edge, or was it someone like Dave Batista, the possibilities were endless and yet he still cursed the fact that it wasn't him.

Stephanie was sitting on the edge of Ferris's bed. She had fallen asleep about ten minutes ago after telling Stephanie all about the story she had read in her English class. It was something about palindromes or some other such word. Her voice had started to fade and Stephanie had just watched her daughter cave in to the sleep overcoming her brain. She smiled down at the little girl who was too smart for her years, but too cute for words.

Stephanie ran her hand down Ferris's soft brown hair, lighter than hers, having natural blonde highlights, probably from her father. Her face was reposed in sleep and she looked so peaceful that Stephanie wanted to climb into bed with the little girl and find that kind of sleep as well. She was thinking about what she had told Chris earlier.

She was revealing all her secrets to him and that was one of her darkest. She had never revealed to anyone, not even her parents, that she and Hunter had separated. At the time it had been almost a non-issue, but maybe it was a bigger deal than she had let on, maybe she should've thought more about it when it happened, but she hadn't and she was living with the consequences now, or what she perceived to be the consequences. She leaned down to kiss Ferris's forehead and then got up and went to the door, sneaking one last glance at her oldest daughter and then closing the door.

She went back into her bedroom and got into bed, not bothering to look at Chris as she lay on her side. Chris went up behind her, spooning her and putting his arm around her waist to pull her flush against him. She closed her eyes and just relished in his touch, memorizing it and feeling any differences. His breath was blowing her hair a little, tickling her ear and she closed her eyes, using her other senses to feel Chris beside her.

"How did I end up with you?" Stephanie asked.

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

"How did I get you?"

"Luck," he joked. "I should be asking how I got you."

"Luck," she returned. "I was just thinking about it, it's all so strange and exhilarating and so not my usual style, this whole thing. But here I am, still with you."

"Still?"

"You know, I mean, like, with you after all this time."

"Oh, okay, yeah, it is pretty exhilarating."

Stephanie shut her mouth then, not believing what she had said. But she'd have to tell soon.


	31. Chapter 31

Stephanie grabbed the phone and dialed the one number she knew better than any other in the world. The number to her home. She hoped her mom was home because she wanted to talk to her desperately. Not only that, she needed to talk to her desperately. Her mother and she had always been close, but never closer than after her divorce. Her mother had really been there for her through the tough times, and Stephanie needed her mother now. She needed her mother to listen to her again.

"McMahon residence."

"Hey Helen," Stephanie said kindly. "Is my mom there?"

"Oh hello Stephanie," Helen, their housekeeper said sweetly. She adored Stephanie and her daughters. "How are Ferris and Keagan?"

"They're great Helen," Stephanie said. "We'll have to come over soon so that you can see them. They love your white chocolate cookies."

"I'll be sure to make a batch just for them. Your mother is in her office, but I'll go get her."

"Thanks Helen," Stephanie told her and then waited for her mother to come on the phone. She tapped her fingers impatiently. She just wanted to talk to someone, she needed her own mommy. Then she laughed at herself and her neediness.

"Stephanie, sweetie, what is it?" Linda's calm and assuring voice said over the line.

"Hi Mom, I was hoping that you weren't busy tonight and that maybe you and I could go out to dinner and just have a mom-daughter kind of thing. We haven't really gotten to do that in a while since Chris came into my life and I miss it. Do you mind? Can you get away?"

"Of course I can," Linda assured her. "I'd love it actually. It has felt like we haven't gotten to do as many things together since Chris and you started dating. Not that I'm upset about that, I love Chris, and I love that you've moved on. How about 6:30, you come over here and we'll go to dinner?"

"I would love that Mom, thank you," Stephanie answered gratefully. "I'll see you then."

"Okay honey, see you then."

Stephanie sighed as she got off the line. She didn't want to wait to see her mother, but she knew that she was going to have to at least wait until tonight. She went downstairs where Chris was sitting at the kitchen table, helping Ferris with some of her homework. Ferris's weakest subject was math and so Chris was making sure that she was doing it correctly. He pointed to something on the paper and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Is Chris helping you sweetie?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, he is," Ferris said with her gap-toothed smile, having lost another tooth two days ago. She couldn't seem to keep any of her baby teeth in her mouth anymore. Stephanie smiled and walked over to the two, ruffling Ferris's hair a little bit and then standing next to Chris. Chris looked up at her and wrapped his arm around her thighs.

"Chris, I was wondering if you could take care of the girls tonight, my mom and I are going to go out to dinner and I kind of wanted it to just be us," Stephanie asked, looking down at him.

"Of course I will," Chris nodded. "Maybe we'll order Chinese or something, or I can cook or something, but yeah, I got it covered."

"Thanks," she said, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. The two of them heard Ferris giggling a few seconds later and Stephanie pulled away to give her daughter a look. "And just what are you laughing at Miss Ferris?"

"Nothing Mommy," Ferris said, trying to stifle her giggle.

"Okay, well, I'm going to take a shower and get ready, I want to be early," Stephanie said, squeezing Chris's shoulder and kissing Ferris's forehead before walking out the door, where she was slammed into by Keagan. "Hey there sweets, you and Ferris are going to be with Chris tonight, do you mind?"

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out with grandma."

"Oh, okay," she shrugged, rushing off into the kitchen. Stephanie went upstairs and got ready to go out with her mother. She was ready way before she had to go so she spent the rest of the time with her family. But then it was time to go and then before she knew it, she was having dinner with her mother and they had just ordered their drinks.

"So Stephanie, I know there's something you want to say."

"I have to confess something to you Mom, and I didn't know who else to turn to, who would support me, and I know you always will."

"Of course honey," Linda said, putting her hand over Stephanie's. "Is something wrong with you and Chris? He doesn't…hurt you, does he? Because if he hurts you, we will have him--"

"Mom, Chris would never hurt me or the girls, it's nothing like that, it's something that happened, something that I completely forgot about until recently and I think it might be life-changing."

"You're pregnant!" Linda said, her eyes wide. "You and Chris are having a baby! Oh sweetie, this is wonderful news!"

"No, no, Mom, I'm not pregnant. Chris and I want kids, yes, but not right now, it'll be a discussion in the future, but no, it's something about the past, something dealing with Hunter and me."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Well, you see, we were separated…"

"_Steph, we need to talk."_

"_What is it?" Stephanie looked up at his adoringly. She grabbed his hand, but he pulled it away from her. She frowned and gave him a look of confusion._

"_I want a separation," he said, right off the bat, not even giving her a moment to prepare, some comforting words before the blow. No, he had just jumped right in._

"_A…what?" Stephanie asked, her head already shaking._

"_Separation. Some time apart, you know, me and you not together for right now."_

"_But…huh? What?" Stephanie said, standing up and looking at him straight in the eye. "This is coming directly out of the blue!"_

"_It's not really Steph, you and me, we've been on the rocks for a while now."_

"_No we haven't!" she insisted. "Just last week you were telling me how in love with me you were and how you wanted a family and how we were perfect together. You couldn't have been lying!"_

"_Well, I just don't feel it anymore," he shrugged._

"_In a week, you changed in a week?" she asked in disbelief. "Did I do something?"_

"_You just aren't what I think I need," Hunter told her. "I just feel that, I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel."_

"_But I don't get it, I don't get this!" Stephanie shouted. "How could you?"_

"_Look, I also think that we should see other people. So you know, you're free to see whoever you want, and I'm free to see whoever I want. I think that'd be good for us. Just to see other people and reevaluate our relationship."_

"_But…no, I don't want that."_

"_It's not always about what you want, I'll see you later," Hunter said, leaving her behind. She didn't tear up until she knew he was gone._

"You and Hunter were separated?" Linda asked in disbelief. She had never heard one word about any separation.

"Less than three weeks, nothing that long," she told her mother. "It didn't bear thinking about after it was over. It just wasn't worth it. He came back to me, stated that it was me he wanted all along and that he did love me, and I believed him. I took him back and then…well, I found out I was pregnant, and Mommy, things were so good."

"Well that's okay sweetie, that you got separated, you figured out that you wanted each other and you got back together and had two wonderful daughters."

"Mommy, I slept with another man when we were separated."

"You took Hunter's advice?"

"It was…it wasn't supposed to happen."

_Stephanie didn't like bars, and Stephanie didn't like drinking. If she went out to some fancy place, she'd have one drink and that was it. She didn't like that feeling of losing control when you drank. She didn't like it when things became so distant that you could neither feel nor touch. No, she didn't like that at all. But tonight, tonight she wanted that feeling of floating and where everything was happy. And that's how she had found her way to this bar._

"_Stephanie McMahon, is that you?"_

"_Hi," Stephanie said shortly. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Drowning my sorrows, you?"_

"_Same," she responded. "So let's leave each other to that, shall we?"_

"_You shouldn't drink alone, ever heard of that?" he said, his voice slurred. Obviously he had been drinking for a little bit._

"_So what was your excuse?"_

"_Girlfriend dumped me…for another guy."_

"_Hey, my husband dumped me for another girl," Stephanie chuckled mirthlessly. "Looks like we have something in common."_

"_Hunter dumped you?"_

"_Not dumped, he…wanted a separation or some crap like that."_

"_Hey man," he said, gesturing towards the bartender. "Get the lady anything she wants on me, all night if you have to."_

"_Double gin martini, extra dry," Stephanie said, then scooted one seat closer. "So why did your girlfriend dump you for another guy?"_

"_I'm gone too long," he said. "Which just means she wants to screw another guy."_

"_Yeah, while Hunter wants a separation to screw another girl," Stephanie said, getting her drink and downing half the contents in one gulp, feeling the alcohol burn down her throat. "Life sucks."_

"_Ain't that the truth?" _

_She groaned. "I wish I could get back at him, that bastard, leaving me so he could screw some floozy, some whore, bitch…"_

"_Steph, calm down, have another drink, a few more and you won't even know his name."_

_A few more drinks and she was laughing it up with her companion. They were both making fun of their significant others. Stephanie leaned her head on his broad shoulder, sighing happily. The alcohol had dulled the hurt in her soul. She didn't need Hunter, no, she didn't need him at all._

"_Do you want to help me?" Stephanie asked._

"_Help you what?"_

"_Get back at him, get over him, do something to get?" she said with a giggle._

"_How?" Stephanie whispered something in his ear and his eyes widened. "Oh, you want to do…oh, hell yeah, I'm not turning you down. You know, you're really very beautiful."_

"_You're really very handsome," she returned. He chuckled as he threw down a bunch of bills and escorted Stephanie upstairs and to his hotel room. They were making out by the time they reached his door and she did nothing to stop it. She was hurting, he was hurting and they needed this. Okay, maybe not need, but they wanted this. It was just a little piece of revenge for the people who cheated first._

"Okay," Linda said. "Who was it?"

"Mom, I don't want to think about that," Stephanie said. "I just needed to get it out there. But…that's not the only thing…"

"Stephanie?" Linda asked, knowing where this was going.

"Ferris might not be Hunter's," Stephanie said in one breath. She looked stricken, grabbing her stomach. "I'm just…I'm not sure…I'm really not sure, I didn't even think about it until Chris said that Ferris wanted him as a dad, and then I thought about this guy that I slept with and it brought all these memories that I had just forgotten, but I don't even know. I look at Ferris and I don't see Hunter anymore, and it scares me."

"Oh darling," Linda said, closing her eyes. "You owe it to yourself to find this man, and to tell him, and then to find the truth. If Ferris is some other man's child, he has the right to know and so does she."

"I know Mom, I know, I'm just…I'm scared."

"I know honey, but you have me, and you have your father, and Shane, Ferris, Keagan, and you have Chris, and he is going to stick with you because he loves you."

"I know," she said nervously. "I guess…I'm just glad it's out in the open right now."

"Me too, you shouldn't hold something like that in. You'll be fine honey, just fine."

Stephanie gave her mom a nervous smile. Her secret was out there. Her secret was out in the open, one she didn't even know she was keeping for a long time. But the timeline was right, the dates accurate and she was now scared. But her mother knew and her mother would help and things would be okay.

She just wished she could tell her mom that the man was…

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Evil, yes, I know. 


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone for the reviews for the past few chapters. It's been really gratifying to see so many. I was really nervous about this storyline and had to have a couple people (who know who they are) reassure me. I'm just so thankful for the reviews, and the love for this story and I hope you continue to enjoy it and review. :)

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Chris Jericho was a good man. He had lived his life how he thought it should be lived and he was reaping the benefits now. He had been a patient man, waiting for the right woman to come along. He never figured it would be the one woman who weighed the heaviest on his mind. But he had noticed a change in Stephanie's behavior the past week or so, and it was starting to get to him a little bit.

He and Stephanie had been through this relationship at almost lightning speed. It was so fast that he sometimes had to race to catch up with it. But he wouldn't trade it back for anything. Being with Stephanie made him the happiest he had been in years. There was only so much happiness that your career could bring you, and at some point in your life, there had to be more. Chris had found that more, and he was starting to worry that it was being taken away from him.

It wasn't that Stephanie was any less affectionate with him, or ignored him, because she didn't. It was different though. She seemed to withdraw herself from him, and that worried him immensely. Was she starting to doubt their relationship or something? Chris hated when these thoughts crept into his brain, but there they were and he couldn't push them back out again. He was finally at a place in his life that he was happy and he didn't want to lose that.

So here he was, packing up Ferris and Keagan's things for the night. He had called Linda and asked if she could take care of the girls overnight so that he and Stephanie could have a little alone time together. He really wanted to talk to her about what was going on and he hoped that she would open up to him. Sometimes she still had trouble doing that, but he was starting to wear her down little by little.

"I got my toothbrush!" Keagan said proudly as she held up her pink toothbrush for Chris to see. "Mine is pink and Ferris's is blue, I wanted the blue, but Mommy said next time I could have the blue."

"That's great," Chris said, taking the toothbrush from her and putting it in its traveling case before stuffing it into her backpack. "I've got your pajamas, a change of clothes, toothbrush, your stuffed animal, anything else you need?"

Keagan screwed up her face in thought then shook her head rapidly, her hair flying around her face, "Nope!"

"Good," he said, zipping it up when the doorbell rang. "That should be your grandma."

"Gramma!" Keagan yelled before racing out of the room.

"Keagan, don't run down the stairs!" Chris yelled after her, which was probably futile because the little girl was like a hummingbird, always flitting around quickly without ever stopping. He grabbed Keagan's backpack and headed downstairs to where Keagan was waiting patiently for him to open the door. He opened it and Keagan ran to her grandma. "Hey Linda."

Linda bent to hug Keagan, "Hello sweetie, and hello to you too Chris."

"How are you?"

"I'm well and yourself?"

"Good as I can be," Chris said, turning and seeing Ferris coming down the steps, her bag in hand. "You ready to go Bueller?"

Ferris nodded and went to her grandma's side. "Hi Grandma."

"Hello my sweet girl, we're going to have fun tonight. I think Grandpa said we could make hot fudge sundaes and watch a movie."

Keagan's jaw dropped, "I'm getting in the car!"

Keagan raced towards the car as Ferris followed, much slower. Chris laughed as Linda looked at him. He turned to Linda and smiled, a little unnerved with the way she was looking at him. "I really appreciate this Linda. I just wanted a little time with Steph, not that I don't love the girls, I do, but I just think it would be good for Steph and I to reset ourselves."

"I completely understand. She's okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Chris said, looking at Linda oddly. "Why? Is there something I should know? She's been acting a little strange lately and I'm a little bit worried about her? Did she tell you she was going to break up with me? Is that why she went out to dinner with you? Is she breaking up with me Linda?"

"No, no, that's not why she went out to dinner with me, not at all, I just wanted to know if she was okay," Linda said.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little on edge," Chris said. "Yeah, she's fine."

"Good, I hope you two have a nice evening," Linda said with a kind smile. "We'll take good care of the girls."

As soon as Linda left, Chris rushed around, trying to set everything up for his romantic evening with Stephanie. He set the table with candles and roses, and he started on dinner, which he hoped she would like. She was bound to be tired from work, and he understood that, so he wanted dinner to be ready and warm right when she walked in the door so they could maybe more their evening upstairs. The girls didn't have to be back for a while tomorrow, so they had all night if they wanted, or they could sleep if she was really tired, he didn't care as long as he got to be around her.

Stephanie arrived home a couple of hours later. She rubbed her eyes a little as she got her keys and opened the door. Her nose was assaulted with the smells of dinner and she sighed happily as she realized that Chris had cooked. She loved when he did that because it took a load off of her mind. And her mind had been in some pretty scary places for the last week.

Every possible scenario from her life had seemingly passed before her eyes in the past week. She imagined telling everyone the truth and then it all blowing up in her face. She imagined getting DNA tests and ending up like she was on the Maury show or something, with her alone and running off in shame and collapsing to the ground. Hunter would probably hate her and call her a slut, and she could deal with that, but she didn't know what was going to happen to the little family unit that she had built. She didn't want that to end, and she was so frightened that it would when the truth came out.

"Hello, hello," Chris said, wiping his hands on a paper towel as he walked into the foyer. Stephanie was standing there and he went over to her and gave her a small kiss before putting his hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the kitchen. "It's about time you got home."

"Dinner smells wonderful, what are we having?"

"A lovely eggplant parmigiana, my mother's recipe," he said with a smirk. "I know you love Italian food, and I thought, what the hell?"

"Where are the girls?" Stephanie asked, looking around, "Should we call them for dinner?"

"The girls are with your parents tonight," Chris told her, planting soft kisses along her jaw. "Tonight is just about you and me and whatever we want to do. We get the whole night to ourselves."

"The whole night?" she asked, her words croaking a little bit.

"Yeah, the whole night," Chris whispered seductively into her ear, not taking note of the way that her voice sounded.

Stephanie bit her lip and held in her actual words as she let Chris lead her into the dining room where the table was set for the both of them. She smiled and he took her jacket off, going to put it somewhere else as she sat herself down. He showed up a short while later with their food and she was glad for the distraction. The easy part was the discussion during dinner, where it was strictly kept to the girls and how their days had been. But when the dinner was over and Chris had cleared the plates and led her upstairs, it got a little more dicy.

She sat down on the bed as Chris began to kiss her, but she just wasn't that into it and he could tell. This worried him, and he stopped to take in her face. "Do you want to talk?"

"I'm good," she lied, even though she really did want to talk.

"Let's talk," Chris said. "I think it'll both clear our heads. There's always time for sex later."

Actually, Chris would've preferred the sex then, but if Stephanie was going to break up with him, then he really needed to know that right now before he did have sex with her and then she dumped him. That would be one of the worst possible things that could happen. Of course, Chris didn't know what Stephanie was holding in at the moment.

Chris laid down on the bed, pulling Stephanie onto it as well and she laid her head on his stomach. He reached down to play with her hair with one hand and hold her hand with his other. The soothing touches to her scalp were affecting her and she was becoming more and more relaxed by the second. She needed to speak with Chris, and she needed to let him know the truth so they could decide how to proceed with getting this situation nipped in the bud.

"So what's on your mind beautiful?" he asked.

"Lots of things, the girls, Hunter, us…"

"Us?" he asked, his voice shaking a tiny bit. He cleared his throat a little, "What about us? All good things I hope…"

"All good things," she confirmed and he breathed a sigh of relief, which she felt and tilted her head to the side to look at him curiously. "Why, what did you think?"

"I thought that you might…that you were thinking that you were going to break up with me," he admitted. "You've just been acting weird this past week and I was worried that you were having second thoughts about us or something. Either that or you had finally gotten tired of me and wanted me gone, which would be very inconvenient since I sold my house to come live with you and I'm here now and I wouldn't have a place to go."

"I don't want to break up with you," she told him. "That didn't even cross my mind. I love you, I love being with you."

"Good, good," he told her. "It's just, the way you had been acting. I thought I was going to have to break out and beg you not to leave me or something, or admit just which Fozzy songs are about you."

"You have other songs about me?" she asked, a little giddy at the prospect.

"Yes, I have other songs about you," he admitted. "You were my muse."

"I was your muse?" she asked, a smile creeping up onto her face. She was starting to feel a little bit better.

"Yeah…I mean, you were the one woman I could never get," Chris said. "When you find that one girl that you just can't have, I don't know, it drove me a little crazy I think. If you listen to All That Remains, I think a bunch of songs are about you. Wanderlust definitely."

"That's my favorite of all your songs," Stephanie told him. "And it's about me?"

"It was about me trying to get over you and completely failing," he joked. "I don't know, you just gave me good inspiration. You're probably the reason I'm such a huge success right now, my tormented love for you."

She giggled. "Tormented love, that's a nice way of putting it."

"It's nice to hear you laugh, you know. I don't think that you've laughed this past week. Something's been on your mind, and now that I've cleared that it isn't you dumping me, I'm at a loss for what it could be, so if you want to enlighten me, I'd find that really great, and a load off of my mind."

"It's nothing you should worry about."

"Is this about me going back to wrestling?" Chris asked. "I told you already that you don't have to worry about me around other women, I know when I've got a good thing going."

"No, I'm just thinking about the past, you know," she told him. "About what I told you the other day, about Hunter and me separating. That was the first time that I had told anyone about that since it happened, and it opened a whole floodgate that I didn't even know existed until last week."

"Do you want to talk it out, it'll probably make you feel better."

"It's just, I slept with this guy right, to get back at my husband, and it's just, I mean, I was thinking about it and thinking and I'm still thinking about it and it's just, it's odd is all."

"You sure you don't want to tell me who the guy is?"

"Not yet," she told him. "I mean, I just…no, actually, you know what, you should know, I shouldn't keep this in any longer, I really shouldn't."

"I'm listening."

"Okay, so you know that I slept with this guy for one night, and it was just to get back at Hunter for separating with me so he could go sleep with some other girl. I never did see this girl you know, I wonder who she was. Anyways, I slept with this guy."

"Don't tell me he suddenly remembered and wants you back," Chris joked.

"No, well…no, that's not it," Stephanie said.

"Okay, so I'm on pins and needles here, go on with the story."

"Chris, the guy was you."


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: You guys are all so awesome for your reviews. I love them all, thank you so much. :)

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"Chris, the guy was you."

Chris laughed, "What?"

"I slept with you."

Chris laughed, thinking that she was changing the subject or something. His mind had yet to process just what Stephanie was telling him. "Steph, I know that you've slept with me, I was there, I was you know, above you, or below you, yeah, I was there."

"No, I mean, we've slept together before we WERE together," Stephanie explained uneasily. "You don't remember, it's okay, I didn't remember either. I didn't remember for a long time, it wasn't like something…I…I don't know how to talk about this."

"What do you mean we slept together? Steph, if we had slept together before we got together, I think I would've remembered that."

"No, you don't," Stephanie said. "Because we were drunk. You were drunk because I was drunk and then we slept together, remember when I told you about Hunter and my separation?"

"Yeah, but…"

"I was devastated, I wanted to just drink myself into oblivion and I went down to the hotel bar after he told me and you were there, you were just having a beer, you said you'd buy me a drink, I said I'd buy you one, and then we were constantly buying each other drinks and…I woke up the next morning, naked, next to you, and I left. I mean, it wasn't cheating, I didn't cheat because Hunter was off banging some other chick that he wanted to sleep with. And you didn't remember…so I never said anything."

"Are you kidding me?" Chris asked. "I slept with you and I didn't remember? Oh, I'm never going to forgive myself that! I can't believe it, you were probably amazing and I didn't even remember. Damn it Chris."

She laughed at that, because it was just so sweet and totally him. "I forgot about it over time because Hunter came back to me, told me he slept with this woman and he needed me and I needed him, so we got back together and then I had Ferris and Keagan and things were good for a while and it didn't matter because it was a one time thing, it was like Hunter and I just took a break to sow our wild oats or something, and yeah…"

"Wow, I really do wish I had remembered that. I'm sorry if I took advantage of you."

"No, I think I took advantage of you," Stephanie said. "Anyways, that's not all…"

"Okay, please tell me that we didn't sleep together some other time that I don't remember."

"No, that's not it, I mean, if that happened, you'd probably remember. The first time was a fluke," she said, stumbling over her words. She closed her eyes and then felt Chris's soothing fingers running through her hair.

"Take your time Steph, don't rush yourself into this, take your time, I'll be right here the entire time," Chris said, his voice soft and soothing. She loved that voice. She loved everything about him and she didn't deserve him.

"No, no, not until we got together," she said. "Keagan looks like Hunter, doesn't she?"

Chris thought she was trying to change the subject and just went along with it. "Yeah, she does, the hair, the eyes, totally Hunter. Ferris doesn't look like him though, she looks completely like you."

"Yeah, she does," Stephanie said and she cleared her throat. "Chris?"

"Yeah?" Chris asked, still totally in the dark. Stephanie took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it again. Then she opened it, squeaked and then shut it again. Chris sat there patiently, letting her take her time getting out whatever she needed to say.

"Ferris doesn't look like Hunter because Ferris might not be…Hunter's…" She hoped that he got the idea. Chris narrowed his eyes at her.

"What? I'm sorry, you're going to have to explain that to me again."

"Ferris might not…be Hunter's…"

"Stephanie…are you telling me there's a chance that Ferris is my daughter?"

"There's a chance," Stephanie told him. "I mean, she might not be. But she might be."

"Oh my God," Chris said, swallowing hard. "Are you…you can't…you're…it was me that you slept with?"

"Yeah, I told you that," she said, not daring to glance up at him. "Chris, I…don't know what to say."

"You kept this from me?" Chris said harshly. "How could you keep this from me?"

"Chris, but, I--"

"A daughter, you kept the fact that I might have a daughter, a little girl of my very own!" Chris said, standing up from the bed. Stephanie sat up quickly, seeing the hurt in Chris's eyes. He shook his head as if clearing the cobwebs from his dusty mind. "My daughter!"

"Chris, it wasn't…"

"You left me that morning, hoping I wouldn't remember, and I didn't, but that still doesn't mean I wouldn't want to know that I might have a daughter out there!" Chris shouted, starting to pace around the room. "First you tell me you sleep with me, then you tell me that Ferris may be mine!"

"I left you because it was a one-night thing. I was upset, you were upset over your girlfriend and it was just a thing where we were there at the right time!"

"I still should've known, you could've told me that we had slept together instead of leaving me in the dark for over eight years!" Chris snapped.

"It wasn't anything at the time though," Stephanie said. "I was upset about Hunter and then he came back to me and--"

"I don't want to hear it!" he said, holding his hand up to stop her words. He ran his hands through his blond hair, staring down at the floor, then spoke quietly, "I don't want to hear it…"

"Chris, please let me explain," she pleaded, getting up on her knees on the bed so she was eye-level to him, or she would be if he ever looked up at her. "Please, let me just explain what happened. I know that I can make you understand."

"Make me understand," he scoffed. He chuckled mirthlessly as he continued to stare at the ground, tears starting to form in the back of his eyes. He could feel them. This entire situation was surreal. If he had just slept with her and that was it, he'd be somewhat ecstatic, knowing that at some point his body had melted with Stephanie's. But to hear that he might have a daughter, a daughter he had seen as a baby and didn't even know that it might be his, that was like someone stabbing him in the heart.

He remembered Ferris as a baby. She had been the main reason he had never thought to even look in Stephanie's direction. It was one thing to want a woman who was married, but married with a child was an entirely different set of circumstances. Now he knew that all that time, it could've been his little girl. Seeing Hunter holding a girl that could've been his, seeing Hunter watch proudly over that little girl, doing things that he potentially had the right to be doing. It was all so overwhelming and the room started to spin a little as he tried to digest it all.

"Chris," she said softly.

"Explain it all," he said, his voice hurt and she wanted to reach out for him, but she didn't, keeping her distance.

"Please."

"I can't believe you would keep something like this from me, I can't believe you would keep a daughter away from me," Chris said, his voice starting to crack. Stephanie's tears started to overflow, despite her best attempts at keeping them at bay.

"It wasn't like that," Stephanie said, hoping he would believe her.

"Oh God, they're going to have a field day with this. The media is going to have a field day with this," he mumbled to himself. "Oh God, they're going to rip me alive."

"Chris, what did you say?" Stephanie asked.

"They've been waiting for a scandal!"

"What?" she asked, not getting where he was going with this.

"I've been squeaky clean all these years. No scandals, I was barely worth putting in the tabloids, and now they've got this. They've got a secret affair and a love-child. Oh, they are going to rake me over the coals. I'm going to have to go on like Dateline or some other stupid show to explain my actions!"

"Chris…it doesn't have to--"

"Have to what? Know? Oh, they'll find out. They always find out. You can't keep a kid a secret, no matter how hard Tom Cruise tried. You just can't Stephanie. Now they have this and it's going to be really bad. I may have to cancel a tour or something. Do you realize what this can do to my career? I slept with a married woman for God's sakes."

"We were separated!" she protested.

"That doesn't matter, nobody will bother with that part. You were legally married at the time and they're going to know. They're going to add up the timeline and they're going to know and I'm going to look like a royal jackass. They'll start blaming me for your divorce!"

"No, no, it won't be like that!"

"How the hell do you know!" Chris said. "You kept this secret from me, God, I can't believe this. You could've told me, just a phone call, hell, I was there for the first year of that little girl's life! Do you know how much it KILLED me to see you with your family! That could've been mine I realize now. Damn it Stephanie, damn you!"

"Chris, it wasn't my fault!"

"Yeah, I know the actual act wasn't your fault and that's not what this is about, you lied to me though after the fact. You've been lying to me for years, our relationship…that's a lie too," Chris whispered. "God, it was a lie, this whole thing is just a lie."

"No, it's not a lie! I love you!"

"Shut up Stephanie, I don't want to hear it," he said, and he was slowly starting to feel the resolve drain out of him. "They're going to pick me apart, eat me alive. I can see it now. Everyone is going to know and people will hate me."

"What about the little girl who might have her whole world shattered?" Stephanie said quietly.

"They're just going to hate me, and the tabloids, they'll get weird sources," Chris kept mumbling to himself, ignoring everything that Stephanie was saying about Ferris. Chris shook his head, running his hand over his face. His hand was trembling as thoughts of what this would do for his career surfaced in his mind. He imagined self-ruin and after everything that he had tried to build. He had worked so hard to get where he was and this one secret could tear it all down.

"Honey, please."

Chris didn't know when Stephanie had come up to him, but she was next to him now. She reached out a tentative hand to caress his arm, but he was having none of it. He shook her arm off angrily, silently telling her not to touch him. She looked rightfully hurt at his rebuff, but she knew that this news was going to be hard for him. It had been hard for her to come to grips with and she had more time to think about it. She wanted so much to just reach out and touch him, to reassure him that everything would work out, but she didn't know that to be the truth.

There was so much to consider, from his career to how everyone would take it. There was Ferris's reaction to her father might not being her father. Then there was a whole different monster in Hunter. He would be more angry than devastated, she knew this, but still, he'd be devastated. There was also Keagan, who would suddenly be Hunter's only daughter, and if she and Chris worked through this would be the only one of her children not having Chris as a father.

That brought up the whole relationship aspect. Would Chris even still want her? She didn't want to alienate another man in her life. But as she was contemplating this, Chris was already free from her grasp and leaving the room. She followed him quickly, a step behind him as he went down the stairs, their romantic evening long forgotten about. She caught up with him at the foot of the stairs and grabbed his arm. He tried to wrench it free but she had dug her fingers into it, causing quite a bit of pain.

"Chris, wait, where are you going?"

"Out," he said succinctly.

"But where?"

"OUT!" he snapped, finally wrenching his arm free.

"No, please Chris, please don't leave me, please," Stephanie pleaded, tears freely falling now, furiously down her face. "I can't be without you, please."

"I'm going out Stephanie," Chris said. "You can't stop me."

"No, please," she said, dropping to her knees. "Please Chris!"

She looked sad and pathetic, but Chris had no feeling in his body. He was numb now. Numb to everything. He needed to leave, he needed to leave now and figure all this stuff out in his mind. Stephanie had her hands covering her face as she sobbed. Chris's lip quivered for a moment, resisting the urge to pick her up and hug her. But he couldn't, his hurt was too raw.

He left her instead.


	34. Chapter 34

It'd be cliché to say that Stephanie didn't know how long she spent in the foyer of her home after Chris left. She could say that it felt like hours, but was merely minutes, or it felt like an eternity, but was a few moments. She would probably think those things if she had any capacity to think at the moment. But her mind had turned into sludge, pooling in the pit of her skull. She would've collapsed if not for some unseen force keeping her there. She lifted herself up, staring after the door, wondering if suddenly Chris would come back, realize that he had acted so irrationally and came back to her.

But in those moments, or minutes, or in that stretch they call eternity, Chris's face did not appear before her like she dearly hoped. She climbed the stairs, her feet feeling like they had been dipped in lead as she trudged her suddenly drained body upwards. She went into her bedroom and fell onto the bed. The room was darker, she noticed, or maybe her eyes had cast a dark shadow over everything in her life. She lay there, curled up in the fetal position, but no tears trailed down her cheeks. For Stephanie, she had cried so many tears that she seemed incapable now.

She didn't want to think or remember, but she did and she couldn't force those ideas out of her brain. To push them away would be to push Chris away and she didn't want to do that just yet, didn't want to know that she had screwed up what could've possibly been the best relationship of her life. At that thought, she closed her eyes bitterly. The what-ifs would come soon, she knew this, but right now, she looked at her crumbling relationship with the man that she loved. She had put her heart out there for him and maybe that was a bad idea, now that she thought about it. Maybe she should never have let him in.

Chris was driving around, his eyes bleary, but from tears or anger, he couldn't be too sure. His mind just couldn't wrap itself around the information that he had received earlier. He had planned a romantic evening with Stephanie, some alone time away from the girls. Then she had dropped the mother of all bombshells on him. If she had said she was pregnant, he could've dealt with that with ease, he would love to have a child with Stephanie. But saying that her almost eight year old daughter might be the result of an encounter that he didn't even remember was too much, too soon, too fast.

He was surprised he was able to drive at all. He had no idea where he was going, or where he had come from. He found himself driving around Connecticut, no destination in sight. He was going to have to find a hotel of some sort soon because he couldn't drive all night. The fight was slowly drawing its way out of him and if he didn't find a bed soon, he was afraid he'd fall asleep at the wheel and the last thing he needed on this night of all nights was for him to get into a car accident. He found the nearest hotel he could find and pulled into the parking lot. The place was nice, he could tell that and he walked inside, the room inviting, but he went straight to the counter to check in.

The girl recognized him immediately and he groaned inwardly. Of all the nights that he didn't want to be recognized, it was tonight. He tried to get through check-out quickly, but he had to sign a myriad of things before he was able to go up to his suite. He went into the room and didn't bother to take off any clothes before he collapsed on the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up. He didn't know what to do with himself. He didn't know how to proceed from here. He spotted the mini-bar and went over to open it. There were different mini-bottles of liquor and he scooped them all up and dumped them on the bed. He grabbed a mini-vodka and looked down at it. He sighed and threw it back on the bed. He didn't drink like this and he wasn't going to start now.

He laid back down and still didn't know what to do with himself. His life had become his girls, Stephanie, Ferris, and Keagan. He had become their family, and they had become his. He had been happier with the three of them than he had ever been in his entire life. But now he didn't know what he wanted to do or where he was going to go. It felt like Stephanie had stabbed him through the heart with a red, hot poker and he didn't know how to pull it back out again.

He picked his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed his agent's number. "What's up Chris?"

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked dumbly.

"Because your name was on my phone, so what's up? Why are you calling so late?"

"I'm in deep shit," Chris sighed heavily as he closed his eyes and thought bitterly about the situation. "I'm probably going to need some major damage control soon and I needed to tell you before everything hit the fan."

"Chris," Brad said with disappointment in his voice. "What did you do?"

"It's nothing something recent, it's something that happened while I was still in wrestling, I didn't know about it until tonight, but its bad man, it's really bad. I know you've gotten people out of sticky situations before, and I'm going to need that kind of expertise now."

He heard Brad sigh, "You're lucky I'm good Chris, you're lucky I'm the best damn agent with the best damn PR team. This shit won't get you arrested will it? If it can get you arrested, I'm going to have to start spinning right now."

"No, it's not drugs and it's not even a crime," Chris told him. "Look, I'll meet with you later, this is something I need to say in person, so we'll meet in a couple of days. There's no way it gets out between now and then. But seriously, it's nothing illegal."

"Thank God," Brad said. "I'll call you in the morning to set up a meeting, until then, talk to nobody about whatever this is."

"I wouldn't…I don't think I can…bye man."

"Bye Chris." Chris hung up the phone and closed his eyes, the weight of the situation finally coming down on him full force.

In two separate rooms in the same city, Chris and Stephanie both fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, Stephanie woke up to feel a shaking on her leg. She opened her eyes slightly to see that it was morning, but her mind wasn't awake yet. Her mind was a million miles away. She felt the hand on her leg and for a brief moment, she hoped and prayed it was Chris. She sat up briefly and was disappointed to see her mother sitting there, looking on at her concernedly. Stephanie's lip quivered a moment before she realized she had fallen asleep in her clothes from the night before. Her exhaustion had caused her mind to fall into an abyss of sleep.

"Stephanie, sweetie, what's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Nothing," she responded, trying to keep her brave front up for her mother.

"No, do not lie to me," Linda told her sternly. "You're in regular clothes, you weren't in bed, Chris is not here and you have dried tears on your cheek. Something happened."

Stephanie reached up to her face and felt the dry, caked-on tears and she realized that she must've been crying in her sleep. She closed her eyes painfully, seeing that her subconscious mind had let her cry these tears she needed to cry without her knowing. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to take some of the sleepiness from them before she could fully look at her mother, who had that gentle look she always wore.

"He left me Mommy, he left me last night," Stephanie choked out.

"He…you told him?" Linda asked. "And he didn't take it too well."

"Not well at all," Stephanie confirmed.

"Sweetie, give him a little time, he'll be back, I mean, it had to be a blow for him to hear that you had been with another man and potentially bore this man's--"

"Mom, Chris was the man, Chris could be Ferris's father. That's why I couldn't tell him before you, he's the guy I slept with and he ran off. He ran and blamed me for not knowing, and not telling him about Ferris, and I didn't know Mommy, I really didn't."

"Oh my baby," Linda said, scooting forward and taking her daughter into her arms. Stephanie clung to her like she had as a little girl and she had fallen off her bicycle. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Linda stroking Stephanie's soft, brown hair as Stephanie held onto her mother, her life preserver. Linda leaned her head down, "It'll be okay, we'll make it through this, you know we will."

"I love him Mommy," Stephanie whispered painfully, the words cutting into Linda's heart. "I love him so much and I ruined it."

"You didn't ruin anything, Chris is a good man, he'll do right by you."

"By Ferris you mean," Stephanie said softly. "He doesn't want me anymore. He left me, I hurt him so bad Mommy."

"Shh, shh, you have to be strong sweetie, you have to be strong."

"Mommy?" came the timid voice from the doorway. Stephanie pulled away from Linda to see Ferris leaning in the doorway. Stephanie gazed at her daughter for a second, a brief flash of Chris coming to her as she looked at her little girl. She saw Chris in her again and it was startling.

"Hey sweetie, did you have fun at Grandma and Grandpa's?" Stephanie asked, trying to sound cheery.

Ferris frowned a moment, but then smiled lightly, "Yeah, it was fun."

"Great, I'm glad you had fun."

"Mommy, where's Chris?" Ferris asked. She didn't see him in here, and he wasn't anywhere else in the house. She wanted to see him and ask him if they could go to the park later because she felt like going and seeing all the dogs they had there. She really wanted a dog, but her mommy said they'd have to wait.

"Oh…" Stephanie looked stricken as she looked to her mother for guidance. But Stephanie knew that she'd have to handle this herself. "Well, Chris had to go out for a while, and he might not be back for a while."

"Where'd he go?" Ferris asked, not gleaning on to the fact that Chris wasn't there because something had happened. Her mother did look a little worse for the wear, but Ferris didn't know that was something she should watch out for.

"He had some…errands to run," Stephanie explained, then tried to change the subject, "Where's your sister?"

"She's downstairs watching cartoons," Ferris told her. "Mommy, Chris didn't go somewhere far did he? I wanted him to take me to the park."

"Oh, sweetie, I don't…I don't know how long he'll take. He might be far, I don't know."

"He didn't tell you where he was going?" Ferris asked, now starting to wonder about the state of affairs in her house. She was still only a little girl after all, you couldn't expect her to pick up on every nuance.

"Well, I forgot," Stephanie told her.

"Oh," Ferris said. She was reminded of something, the way her mother looked right now, it reminded her of when her father had left. "Mommy, did Chris move away?"

"Where would I move away to?" a voice came from behind her and Ferris spun around to see Chris walking down the hallway, Keagan firmly in his arms, her smaller arms wrapped around Chris's neck. Ferris's eyes widened in delight as she raced to Chris and hugged him around the waist.

"Chris!"

Chris had flinched when Ferris had hugged him. He looked hard at the little girl as they worked their way to the doorway of his bedroom. He was trying to find any of himself in the little girl, but she was so completely Stephanie, it was hard to. He had never really looked for any of him in her before though because he had no reason to. He hugged her to him with his free hand, feeling for the first time like he could be her father, and it was a strange feeling. Then the bitterness of all the time he lost crept into him.

"Hey there Bueller," Chris said, kneeling down so that she could give him a proper hug. "Keags told me you had fun last night."

"Yeah, we had ice cream sundaes with everything, even caramel," Ferris said excitedly. "It was cool and Grandpa watched a movie with us and it was really funny. Did you and Mommy have fun?"

"Well…not without you," he said, covering his tracks. He had yet to even look at Stephanie though. "But did you guys eat breakfast yet?"

"Nope," Keagan said.

"Well, I have donuts for you guys downstairs, complete with sprinkles and everything," Chris said. "Doesn't that sound yummy?"

"Yeah!" Keagan said.

Ferris just continued to hug Chris, glad that her mother wasn't lying and he really hadn't gone anywhere. Her mother had worried her. Stephanie sat there, stupefied at seeing Chris again. She hadn't expected to see him again, and maybe that was silly of her, but it was what it was. But of course he wouldn't be like that. She should've known that he would never treat the girls like they were nothing to him. He would never just leave and not even explain to them. Chris was too good a man to completely walk away. Even if he was going to leave her, even if he hated her forever, there was no way he wouldn't do the right thing by Ferris and Keagan. And if Ferris was his daughter, he would do the right thing and he would be a father to her, hopefully, unless it was too painful. But she reminded herself that he wasn't Hunter.

"Chris, can we go to the park today?" Ferris asked innocently.

Chris gulped, and shook his head, "I'm sorry kiddo, but I have to fly down to Florida because I have to meet with my manager."

"Oh, do you have to?" Ferris asked.

"Chris, don't go!" Keagan said, burying her face into Chris's neck.

"I wish I didn't have to, but it's really important that I go. I don't think I'll be gone too long," Chris told them. "Why don't you go down and get some donuts while I pack?"

"Here, I'll go with them," Linda said, alighting from the bed as she ushered her granddaughters out of the room, giving a look back to Stephanie, who looked like she would rather be anywhere but there at that moment.

When they were gone, Chris went and grabbed his suitcase from his closet. He tossed it on the bed and started fishing through his clothes, deciding what to bring and what not to bring. He had taken one of his larger suitcases and Stephanie almost started crying at the sight, but instead she just sat there, motionless. He came out with an armful of clothes and dumped it into his suitcase, ignoring her. She knew that he was doing it on purpose and it cut her heart into shreds.

"Are you really going to Florida?" she asked timidly, wondering if he would acknowledge her question or keep pretending that she wasn't there.

"Yeah, I am," he said shortly.

She nodded slowly, "Will you be back?"

"I have to, don't I? I have to come back to get a test to see if she's my daughter," Chris said.

"Will you come back here?" she asked, referring to the house.

"I don't know," Chris told her honestly, and his answer was cold. She bit her lip, trying in vain not to let him see how upset she was. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't, really depends now doesn't it?"

"So are we broken up?" she asked. "Are you going to start seeing other people? I just thought I should ask in case…well, I don't want the girls to open a magazine and see you with another woman."

"The girls won't know anything," Chris told her. "I love those girls, that's why I'm here, I couldn't just leave without giving them some sort of explanation. And Ferris might be my daughter, if you think that I'm going to shirk those responsibilities, you're wrong. If and when she comes back as my daughter, she will be _my _daughter, I will see her, and I will interact with her, and I will help with her financially. That's my responsibility and I will take that seriously."

"Okay," Stephanie said and that pretty much confirmed that they were now broken up. "I didn't know Chris…" She started to tell him since she figured this was her last chance to ever tell him the truth. "I really didn't. I didn't think that night could've been in the range when I got pregnant, I really didn't."

"Okay," Chris said, like he didn't believe her, and a part of him didn't. A part of him wanted someone to blame. Maybe he even blamed himself for not being sober enough to realize that he had slept with Stephanie. Perhaps things would be different now, maybe his life would be different. Maybe he wouldn't be standing here, packing a suitcase and trying to get away from the woman he loved.

"_Please _believe me when I tell you that Chris," Stephanie pleaded with him. "I really didn't know."

"Whatever Stephanie, the fact of the matter is that it happened, and now I may have a daughter that I never got to act as a father to. It is what it is, and I need to figure things out. I need to figure out how to incorporate a daughter into my life. It's different when you're not their father, but being a father is huge, and Ferris is such a good kid, I love her Stephanie, that's never going to change. But if she's my daughter, I can't help but fall in love with her completely."

She smiled at that, a small, wistful smile. "Thank you for not denying her."

"I never could," he told her honestly. "I could never just ignore a child that was mine. But you…I just can't get over that right now."

"So we're no…longer together?" she asked, fearful of his answer, but plowing through anyhow. She was strong, she could take this. She had just driven another man away.

Chris looked at her for a long moment. Heaven help him, he loved this woman. You can't just erase love overnight, you can't just fall out of love with someone as quickly as you fall in love. It just didn't work that way. As he took in her harried appearance, her messy hair, her crumpled clothes from last night, and her red-rimmed eyes, he knew he wasn't out of love with her. But he was angry and upset, and he felt betrayed.

"I've got to go Stephanie, my flight leaves in a couple of hours."

That pretty much confirmed it for her.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Self-pimpage alert! Self-pimpage alert! If you enjoy this story and think you'd enjoy more of my stories, I'd like to suggest going to my profile and finding the story, _Playing with Fire_, under my favorites, which is a story co-written by me with the awesome jetderk1462.

Plus, I have a new story called _Beginning in an Ending_, that I hope you'll check out and review. Which would make me happy, which would make me want to write, which would then make me update this story, which you all enjoy. See how that all works nicely, heh. ;)

Enjoy. :)

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Chris called every night.

That wasn't the problem of course, but she had to admire his consistency. He had promised her that he wouldn't renege on his responsibilities to the girls and he hadn't. She was forced to admire that about him, and admire it she did. That didn't help her own situation, but she was just so incredibly relieved that Chris wasn't going out of his way to ignore the girls. She'd be devastated if he were to just ignore them because as hard as it was on her to hear from him, the girls needed him.

Sad as it was, she also lived for those calls because it usually meant she got to hear his voice if only for a moment. And she would take that moment because she never knew when those moments were going to end. His words to her were always terse and short, and she didn't blame him. She didn't try to force the issue with him, knowing that it would only push him away further, but at some point they were going to have to speak as adults. Hopefully that came soon.

Chris was sitting at the counter in Christian's kitchen, where he'd been staying for the past few days. The first day, Chris had lied, well, sort of lied to Christian and his wife, by saying that he was just here on business but didn't want to hassle with a hotel when he had friends down here. By the second day, they could tell something was wrong, and by this day, Christian was ready to ask what the hell had Chris in such a funk. He just didn't know how to broach the topic.

"You want a beer man?" Christian asked, extending one to his friend.

"Thanks," Chris said graciously accepting the cool beverage as he twisted the top off and took a long swig. He hadn't resorted to drinking or anything like that, but he knew that he wasn't going to refuse a drink.

"Not a problem, if you want to mooch off of us even though you have way more money than we do, go right ahead," Christian joked. Chris rolled his eyes and Christian leaned on the counter to study the other man. "Look, Denise and I both know that something is up. You can tell me now, or you can tell me later, but I think that now would be a great time to get things off your chest."

"It's complicated…"

"It's Stephanie…"

"Yeah, it's Stephanie, but it's not _just_ Stephanie," Chris said, taking another long sip of his beer. "It's just way more than Stephanie. It's a whole host of things stemming from Stephanie. Dude, I'm in such a bind you have no idea."

"What? It can never be as bad as you think it is," Christian said to him. "You probably just think it's bad because it's happening to you, but if it weren't, it would seem trivial, am I right? You probably had some fight with her and now you're running away because you are the guy who never commits. Look at you, you're forty-one years old, never been married, had a ton of girlfriends though…"

"It's not that, hell, before last week, I would've married Stephanie no questions asked. I would've gladly made her the first and only Mrs. Chris Jericho."

"So what was the fight about?"

"It wasn't a fight per se."

"Then what was it?"

"Stephanie and I slept together about eight years ago," Chris explained. "I had no idea, we were both drunk and I have no recollection of it whatsoever. But Stephanie and I slept together."

"Okay, I'm failing to see the problem here, wait, she was married to Hunter eight years ago, oh man, she cheated on her husband!"

"No, they were separated. Hunter wanted to sleep with some other girl so he called this bogus separation and then Stephanie was upset over it and we were at a bar and one thing led to another and I slept with her."

"Okay, I'm still not seeing where the problem is. So you slept with your girlfriend years before you were seeing each other. I mean, you guys are having sex now right? You aren't doing some weird celibacy thing."

"Yes we were having sex, that's beside the point, the point is, where the whole story gets very sticky is…Ferris might be…my daughter," Chris said, taking a deep breath as he said it because he still had to get used to it, if he was ever going to get used to it. He had never had children before, and now he could have a seven-year old daughter.

"What!" Christian said, his jaw dropping. "How could Stephanie not tell you! That little bitch, what did I tell you about her before you started seeing her? Huh, I told you that she was--"

"Dude, dude, calm down," Chris said. "She didn't know. She slept with the both of us really close together, and she just didn't know. She had forgotten about sleeping with me and it was one night. It's just…I mean, she didn't remember in seven years, that's what gets me. And then the media is going to be all over this. They love this kind of stuff, they love to hear about scandals, and I'm not prepared for the backlash. I've never been one to fall into scandalous behavior, and then having a daughter that I didn't know for years, it sucks man."

"Dude, I'm sorry," Christian said. "No wonder you had to get away."

"Yeah, I just, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with Stephanie or Ferris. I know that we have to find out if she is my daughter first and then proceed from there."

"And what about your relationship with Stephanie?"

"That's where I get stuck," Chris sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. I love her though Christian. I love her like I've never loved anyone else in my entire life. But this is just…I don't know how she could never even tell me that she slept with me. Eight years man, eight years that she kept this from me. How can I trust her after that?"

"You said she didn't remember."

"But still, you'd think, maybe the fucking day after she'd say something," Chris said, the anger rising up in him. "Look, I don't really want to discuss this anymore."

"You know what I think you should do?" Christian replied.

"What do you think I should do?" Chris indulged him.

"I think you should talk with Denise. She's always really good at this stuff, I think it's because she's German."

"What does being German have to do with anything?"

"I don't know, but she's been stuck in this house since Matthew was born and I know that she's starved for human contact that doesn't come in the form of a baby. She'd probably really love it if someone who wasn't me took her out for lunch," Christian said sheepishly. Chris could see that Christian was pretty desperate and he nodded. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure, least I can do, where is she?"

"Upstairs folding laundry, I'll go tell her," Christian said, rushing out of the room. Chris chuckled and briefly wondered how he would've done as a father.

He had missed so much of Ferris's life if she was indeed his daughter. He never got to play this fatherly part to her, and he was upset about that. He was trying not to show it, but that was probably what hurt the most. Ferris was a bright, intelligent, perceptive, and sweet little girl, and he had missed out on everything that had led her to become that kind of person. He never got to see the big moments and that sucked, but he never got to see the small moments either. He never got to see her just play around with a new toy, and never got to watch her fall asleep, and that hurt, that really, truly hurt.

"Hey Chris, Christian said you wanted to go to lunch?" Denise asked.

"Yeah, come on, you and me and lunch on the beach, how does that sound?" Chris said. Denise impulsively hugged him and Chris laughed as he hugged her back. "Okay, I know that you've been cooped up all day, but that's no need for this."

"I'm sorry," she said with a laugh, "I just need an afternoon away."

"So do I," he said as he started to lead her out of the house.

They found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating that overlooked the beach. They sat themselves down at a table and ordered some cool drinks as they watched the waves crashing on the shore and the different people walking along the beach and playing in the sand. They were both happy to get out of the house at least for the afternoon.

"Christian told me you have some problems going on at your house."

"I may have an eight year old daughter with Stephanie," Chris said in a nutshell.

"Wow," Denise told him. "That must be really hard."

"It is, I never knew, she never told me."

"Ferris right?"

"Yeah, not Keagan."

"She's very smart," Denise said, as she had met Ferris a few different times since Stephanie and Chris had been together. She and Christian had even baby-sat for them. "She's a very good, little girl."

"Yeah, I know," Chris said with a smile.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is her mother, everything that the media is going to say and do with us. It's not going to be pretty. They're going to eat me alive, and I'm just not ready for that. I'm not ready for my character to start being put into question over something I didn't even know I did. And since Stephanie and Hunter got divorced not too long ago, I'm probably going to get the blame for that."

"You don't know that," Denise said, reaching across the table to take her hand. "But Chris, that's not what's important here."

"I know, it's about Ferris."

"Yes, it is about Ferris. And yes, the media and the critics might say bad stuff about you, but that shouldn't matter. What matters is that you could have a daughter. You love her, no?"

"I love her," Chris sighed, looking down and smiling. "You have no idea how much I love those two little girls. They're…the sweetest things you've ever seen in your life. And Ferris skipped a grade and she's smart. And Keagan is just this bundle of energy and you have no idea where it even comes from."

"It's good that you love them, that's what counts here, Chris. And Stephanie? You love her too, am I right? I only hear glowing things from you about her."

"But what she did, it's just, I don't know, I don't know if I can ever look at her the same again. It's hard because she really hurt me. This entire thing really hurt me, and I'm just so confused right now about her. I don't know if I want her or if I don't."

"You spent a long time loving her and not having her though."

"I know," he said, biting his lip. He had spent so much time without Stephanie and thinking about what it would've been like to have her. Now he did have her and he was going to let her slip out of his grasp? But he just didn't know what else to do. He didn't know how he could proceed with this.

"So do you want to lose her again?"

And that was the 64,000 dollar question.

It was a couple days later and Stephanie was trying to resume her normal life without Chris. It was hard though and she wondered how he could become so ingrained in her life in such a short amount of time. But if Chris was through with her, then she needed to continue living. She had done it before, and she could do it again. In the end, the only person that you could truly count on was yourself. She had learned that lesson the hard way and she was sure that she needed to use that lesson again.

Her mother had taken the girls to give her the day off even though she had told her mother time and time again that she didn't need a day off. A day off would just make her think about Chris all the more, and that was the last thing she needed. But her mother had insisted, seeing her daughter stretched thin. It had been a shock to see herself in the mirror when she looked that morning. Her hair was long and stringy, and her face was red and puffy from all the crying. She was probably scaring her daughters and that was something she never wanted to put on her daughters. This was her burden to carry not theirs. Luckily, with Chris calling everyday, they hadn't noticed something amiss in her own relationship with Chris.

She headed to her hair stylist to get her hair done because that was something that would surely relax her. And it would make her look better and not quite so beaten up, which she was looking like right now. Upon arriving, she was told that her stylist would be with her in a little bit as she was finishing up with her last client. Stephanie sat down and picked up one of the random magazines to read while she waited. That would turn out to be a very bad idea.

She turned to the pages where it showed candid shots of different celebrities doing ordinary things. She rolled her eyes at one picture of one actress coming out from Starbucks. The paparazzi seriously just had to get pictures of everything. Then she turned the page and saw a picture that she didn't expect to see. There was Chris, with some woman, her face obscured by long, brown hair, and she was holding his hand. Her hand started trembling as she studied the picture hard, as if it would come alive if she stared at it a little longer.

_Caught! Rock star Chris Jericho shows off his rock-star womanizing ways by being seen enjoying a beach-side lunch with an unidentified female in Tampa._

Stephanie closed the magazine quickly and stood up from her seat, dumping the magazine and rushing out of the salon before the tears could fall. She knew that they were probably broken up, but to see this. Had he really gotten over her so quickly? It was barely a week since he had left and he was already with another woman. She got into her car and shut the door, leaning her head against the steering wheel as the tears started to fall. She was a broken woman, sitting there, head in hands in a parking lot. It hurt so much to see that picture and know that she had possibly lost the second best thing to ever happen to her beside her daughters. And all because of a stupid mistake, no it wasn't a mistake, not if it gave her Ferris. Not if she got Chris for a little while. She would take that with her as she began the long journey ahead of her.

The one she'd have to take alone.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Thank Jodi for this chapter because she blackmailed me into it. :P

* * *

Some say dreams are what you want in your life, but you can't have. And others say dreams are the last thing you think about before you go to sleep. And still others say many different things, for many different reasons. Dreams can be nonsensical, or they can make perfect sense, and for the privileged few, those images that seep into your mind while your eyes are closed, they come true. But sometimes dreams turn to nightmares and those nightmares cause you jerk up from your beds in sheer terror, or you are forced to sleep through them to the finish.

Chris was one of those unlucky few.

_She was standing there, beautiful, but that was a given. It might not be true that she was always beautiful, but in that moment, in that second, she was beautiful. Her hair seemed to glow in the twilight and it was like spun silk flowing down behind her back. She laughed as she looked at him, and he found it odd that she was in a long nightgown. But he didn't call out to question her, instead just observing her._

_Ferris was there too, and for the first time, she looked completely his daughter. He didn't know why it was like that, but she definitely looked like his daughter. He just stared at her, enraptured that he could've had this kid, this living, breathing half of him that he hadn't gotten to see for so long. She was so pretty, like Stephanie, they were just a sight to behold. They were giggling and laughing and he wanted to join in. But the more that he walked, the less he could get to them as they seemed to pull farther and farther away from him with each passing second. He started running, but it was to no avail, he couldn't get any closer to them._

"_Stephanie!"_

_Stephanie stopped and she looked at him. "Chris, is that you?"_

"_I couldn't reach you," he told her._

"_Of course you couldn't, you left us…you left us and we moved on."_

Chris opened his eyes to the morning light. It wasn't abrupt, he wasn't sweating, he just woke up like it was any other day. But it wasn't any other day. He wasn't with Stephanie in their bed in their house. He was in Florida with nobody next to him. In fact, he was in Christian and Denise's house. And he was nowhere near anywhere that Stephanie was. He turned on his back and put his hands behind his heads to stare up at the ceiling.

He needed to resolve this situation, for better or for worse. He just knew that he couldn't keep living like this. He felt bad that he was encroaching on Christian and Denise's life as it was. He felt like the third wheel, or the unwanted visitor. That was never a good feeling and he didn't want to take advantage of their hospitality. He sat up and stretched, knowing that he had to talk to his manager today and get things squared away and then he had to go back and get that test done.

But first, he'd go down and get a cup of coffee.

Later that day, he was sitting in a small restaurant, nothing flashy or anything like that. He wasn't in the mood to get recognized and with the bevy of paparazzi that followed him at almost all times, he just wanted a moment's peace. He had gotten used to them for the most part, and he had never had the kind of run-in where they literally chased him down in cars, so he just lived with it. But right now, the less cameras the better.

"Chris, my main man, what's wrong?"

"I need damage control, like I said."

"I know," Brad said as he sat down. "So tell me, what is this huge thing that you did, and if it's drugs man, we can check you into rehab immediately and under anonymity. I know this great place that some of my other clients have gone to and it's--"

"I'm not on drugs," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not into that shit. The worst I ever did was steroids for like two months. But no way, nothing like that."

"So what the hell is it?" Brad hissed.

Chris looked around, and seeing that there wasn't anyone in the immediate area, he leaned in closer to his manager. "I may be a father."

"Wait, so Stephanie's pregnant? What's wrong with that? Oh man, we can play that up. You're finally going to have a kid and oh, your female fans are going to _love_ that. They wanted to connect with you in some way. Sure, some will be disappointed you're off the market, but we can work around that."

"Dude, if you think that I got Stephanie pregnant now that I'd be upset about it and thinking that there needs to be some damage control?"

"Oh…man, you cheated on her! This is not good, man. So you got a mistress pregnant? Okay, this will be a little harder to spin."

"It _is _Stephanie, if you'd let me finish my damn story. And Ferris, you know her, you've met her, well, Stephanie told me the other night that Ferris might be mine. Apparently we had this one night stand and her oldest daughter might be mine. I don't remember the night, but I know Stephanie wouldn't lie to me about something like this."

"And you're sure? I mean, you're worth a lot of money."

"She's worth way more than me, Brad. I mean, we're talking hundreds of millions more than me," Chris told him. "There's no way this is for money or anything. She's telling the truth. I wish I could remember, but she would never lie to me like this."

"Okay, so you might have a seven-year old daughter?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying…she was separated from her husband at the time, but you know how the media types are, they find out that she was still married at the time and suddenly I'm looking like a home-wrecker. Then everyone's going to hate me."

"Well, if we can try and curb that when this comes out, we can play up the family angle if she's yours. I'll come up with something. This won't ruin you, people have done a lot worse and haven't been ruined."

"I just kind of liked having the nice guy image," Chris said soberly. "I liked that you couldn't pin a lot of shit on me. Now though, that's all down the drain."

"It'll be okay, you know, now you finally kind of have that 'bad boy' image, and you'll drawn in a whole other type of fan, this could really work," Brad told him, hoping that he sound optimistic. He knew that Chris was fiercely protective of both his private life and the way that other people perceived him. He didn't like people thinking that he was some sort of bad guy who had come from wrestling. Professional wrestling didn't exactly come with a positive stigma, and though Chris would not change his past for anything in the world, some people found it distasteful.

"That's not helping," Chris said, but he cracked a smile.

"First things first though, before we go crazy and go overboard with thinking about how to salvage your reputation, though I don't think it's really going to suffer, we need to find out if you are Ferris's father. Before then, we can't jump to conclusions. You said that she and her husband were separated, but is there a chance he's the father?"

"Yeah, there is."

"Okay, then we both need to not freak out, you especially since I'm not freaking out. This is easy compared to some of the stuff I've had to deal with, but I know that you're freaking out, so stop that," Brad laughed, which earned him a glare. "We'll set up an anonymous test, so nobody will know it's you, and then when we get that done, we assess from there. Is Stephanie willing to get the test?"

"I haven't talked to her since I left Connecticut," he admitted.

"Well, that's gong to have to change, especially if Ferris is yours. And if she is yours, how are you prepared to handle that?"

"I'm going to be her dad, that's not up for question, I love her," Chris shrugged. "I loved her before this, I'll love her after this, that's not a problem."

"Good, because if you were prepared to abandon her and not take care of her, I'd say don't take the test in the first place. But since I know you, I had to make sure that's what you'd say. I'm going to arrange for a test in the Connecticut area. It's more low-key, but I need you to talk to Stephanie. I can get the test done for tomorrow and get you set up on a plane tonight. The sooner we get this done, the better."

"That soon?" Chris asked with a cringe.

"Chris, we need to get this done, I'm on the phone right now, I'll call with you with details," Brad said, standing up. "Don't worry, it'll be great, everything will be handled."

Chris wasn't sure he believed that, but what more could he do? He had to trust what Brad said. He had to go back to Connecticut and talk to Stephanie. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to, but he needed to get this weight off his shoulders. He couldn't go the rest of his life not knowing if Ferris was his. If she was his daughter, he was going to spoil the hell out of her to make up for the years that he couldn't be there. He was going to do everything and anything to make sure she forgot that Hunter was ever her father. He knew that was nearly impossible, but he was going to try anyways.

Later that evening, Stephanie was just cleaning from dinner. Ferris was sitting at the table doing her homework and Keagan was in the playroom watching a video. Chris hadn't called today, but she was sure that he would call later. He wouldn't let the girls down like that, even if he did have someone new in his life. After reading that magazine she had promptly thrown it away and had practically sequestered herself in her house. She didn't want to go out for the risk that she'd see more of those pictures, or new ones, maybe them making out somewhere.

She didn't expect Chris to never go on without her, she just didn't want him to go without her. She wanted a fairytale ending, and she knew that it was beyond unreasonable to hope for such things, but sometimes, you had to hang on to the little girl that was inside you. Sometimes you had to keep that vision alive, the one that said you were going to have a perfect life and everything you ever hoped for. And even when it was slipping out of your grasp at a rate that you couldn't keep holding on, you had to try.

Chris opened the door silently, setting his bad next to the door. He didn't think he'd stay here tonight, maybe he would because of the girls, but he kept his bag there in case he made a hasty exit and then walked a little more into the house. He could hear the television in the playroom playing and then the sound of water from the kitchen. He decided to head to the playroom first because he was too afraid to go into the kitchen. He turned at the first hallway and stood in the doorway.

"Hey, can anybody watch?"

"Chris!" Keagan yelled in delight as she stood up on the couch. "You're home!"

Chris came over and lifted her up. "Yeah, I missed you too much. I had to come home."

"I missed you too," she said, hugging him around the neck with her arms as her legs wrapped around his torso. "Mommy and Ferris missed you too."

"Well aren't I loved?" he asked playfully.

Stephanie turned off the water, thinking she heard something, but then turned it back on when it was quiet. She went back to staring off into space as she went about her mundane business. This was her life, working then coming home and doing anything to take her mind off Chris. She knew that getting over someone was a process, but this process hurt and she wasn't sure she could take much more without breaking down completely. But she couldn't do that to the girls. She couldn't shut down with them in her life. She couldn't…

"Chris!" Ferris cried out and pierced through her thoughts.

"Hey there Bueller," Chris said affectionately as Ferris rose quickly from her chair and charged at him until she was hugging him tightly. "Wow, someone missed me."

"Yeah, I did," she told him. "You were gone for too long."

"I'm sorry," he said, kneeling down to her level as she hugged him around the neck. "I missed you too, so much that I could barely sleep."

"You're so silly, Chris," Ferris said, but the happiness in her voice was so evident.

Chris looked over the girl's shoulders to see the stunned Stephanie standing by the sink. Her hands were at her sides, but her jaw was dropping slowly. He was like a mirage to her. Maybe she was in her daydream. Yes, that had to be it; she had to be daydreaming because there was no way Chris would be back here. Not with his new girlfriend.

"Hey Steph," he said and that made it all real.

"Chris?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey girls, why don't you go in the playroom so that I can talk to your mom," Chris suggested.

Ferris nodded and had to pull Keagan away from Chris before they headed off, but before they were gone, Chris heard Ferris mumble, "They're going to kiss," to Keagan and he laughed under his breath. He walked over to where Stephanie was, and leaned against the counter. The water was still running though and he reached over to turn it off.

"Hey," he told her.

"Oh, um, hi," she stammered back, feeling like a teenager with her first crush.

"So, I'm back because my manager told me that we can get the test done tomorrow, if that's okay with you. We can do it after Ferris gets out of school, or before, whenever, the doctor is open all day. But we need to get this squared away and off our chests before we do anything else. The place we're getting tested, they can have the results in like, two days or something, so that's not a long time to wait."

"Okay," she nodded numbly, still shocked to see him here.

"Great," he nodded. "I just really want to get this off our chests, you know."

"Yeah, I can understand that," she told him. "You probably just want to know and then move on from there, right?" She was trying to be subtle, trying to get him to admit that he was seeing someone, but she wasn't sure if she was coming off that way, or just sounding desperate. It was probably desperate.

"Yeah, we can move on from there," he said, not picking up on her implication. "I just want to know if she's my daughter, Stephanie. I want to know if that little girl in there is mine, because if she is, I want to be the best dad I can be for her. That's all I want in this. I just want the chance. And if she's not mine, well, I'll still love her and then you know, someday, I'll get that first, or if it never happens, I can deal with that too, I just need to know now."

"Yes, I get that."

"And I'm sorry for overreacting the way that I did, I mean, I shouldn't have thought all about me and not that much about Ferris. If she's mine, that's going to be a huge change for her."

"Are you going to stay here tonight?" she asked. "Or…you know, do you have someplace else that you can go?" Again, she was trying to root information from Chris regarding his future plans, but again, he appeared clueless.

"I'm just going to stay in the guest room tonight, I don't think the girls would understand if I got home and just left," he told her. "I think everything between us, that conversation, I think it can wait until later."

"Okay, yeah, later," she echoed, but she wanted to know now. But then again, she didn't want to hear how Chris was going to leave her and he already had a girlfriend, or girlfriends and she was just going to be left in the past.

"I'm going to go see the girls." He wandered out of the room, leaving her there alone again. She watched his back disappear around the corner and turned back to the dishes.

He was right within her reach and yet a million miles away.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Carolina. Happy Birthday, I hope the chapter lives up to the expectation. :P

* * *

"Mommy, why do I have to be at the doctor's, I don't feel sick."

Stephanie looked to Chris for an answer to this, but he didn't have a reason to tell her, and neither did Stephanie. She looked away for a moment and then looked back down at her daughter, "Well, it's not really a doctor's visit, they just need to get a sample of your spit."

"Eww, Mommy," Ferris giggled, "why do they need to do that?"

"They just need to run a test, and it won't even hurt or anything like a shot. They just need to get some spit and then take it and you'll be done with and we can take you back to school," Stephanie explained, hoping that would suffice for the girl who hated to miss class for any reason.

"Okay, if you say so," Ferris said, looking to Chris. "Chris, are you going to come in with me when they have to get my spit?"

"No, I think I'll wait out here," he said, knowing that he'd go in when she was in there so he could get his sample done too. He didn't want to tip off Ferris to what was going on and neither did Stephanie. The results were going to be enough to deal with, they didn't want to get into it beforehand. If Chris was indeed Ferris's father, they were going to have to tell her. There was just no way they could keep that a secret.

Maybe that's where the fear really lied. Having to tell everyone what had happened was going to be trying, but it would be most trying with Ferris and with Hunter. Stephanie didn't anticipate telling the news to Hunter because he would flip his lid most assuredly. She wouldn't blame him this one time, since it would be a devastating blow. She wasn't stupid, she knew that Hunter felt like he was being pushed out of the picture, but to be actually pushed out of the picture for real, it was going to make him so angry.

"Ferris Helmsley?"

"That's us," Stephanie said as she stood up with Ferris. The nurse gave a kind smile as she led the two back to some room behind the mysterious door. Chris sat there afterwards and leaned his head against the wall, laughing at this rather surreal situation.

Brad had set it up so that the office where they were getting the test done was closed down for them. It gave him an air of anonymity and privacy. He didn't want this out before he got the results. He didn't need to have this splashed on every magazine for all the world to see. He especially didn't want Ferris to get wind of it before things were settled. He did not want that little girl to find out a thing about this.

"Sir?"

Chris looked up at the nurse. "Oh, um, yeah?"

"We're ready for you," she told him and he stood up.

He took a moment to compose himself, knowing that his entire future was riding on this. If he went in there and succumbed to it, it might be better, but he was still confused. His whole life right now was upside-down and nothing made sense. He was accepting the chaos if he walked through those doors. But he had to know the truth and that was the driving force. The truth was what he needed at this very moment, and the rest…the rest could come later.

So he walked through those doors and into the chaos.

Two days, that was all it took. Rush delivery of the results, and then it was there, the moment. The moment that had the potential to change everything had arrived; it had snuck up on them. Chris had been staying in the house, but he had been conveniently put up in a guest room. He played up for the girls that nothing was wrong, but had yet to even touch Stephanie. They talked, civilly, but things were definitely strained on both sides. Stephanie kept thinking about his mystery woman, and Chris was solely thinking about the fact that he could've reproduced with no knowledge of the event.

And two days was all it took for the chaos to come to a stop and the repercussions to begin.

Two days and there was an envelope sitting on the counter. It didn't look ominous or frightening, but how frightening can a manila envelope be? No, it was the contents of said envelope that were scary and foreboding. Stephanie and Chris stared at it. Thankfully it was the middle of the day and Ferris and Keagan were at school and nowhere near Chris and Stephanie who were staring quite intently at it to the point where if a hole started to burn through it, they wouldn't be surprised.

"Should we open it?" Chris asked.

"We should."

"Do you want to?" Chris asked. "You can open it."

"Maybe you should," she told him. "I mean, you can if you want, I'm not like forcing you to do anything that you didn't want to do, but I thought maybe you'd want to since it will change your life more than it will change mine."

"We shouldn't do it here, too many…well, I just, maybe we should go out to lunch or something? I mean, public place, less chance for…well, freaking out and fainting," Chris said, trying to make a lame attempt at a joke that just wasn't working. It wasn't going to relieve the incredible amount of tension building up in the room.

"Okay, if that's what you want to do, I'm game for that," Stephanie nodded. "I mean, we can eat, and do it, or do it and eat, and look and discuss and it would be good, I guess, for us to get it all out there."

Chris picked up the offending envelope and Stephanie stared at it in his hand. That envelope contained something so huge and yet it seemed so small. She grabbed her purse and they were off for a tense car trip to a nearby restaurant that was quiet enough so they could talk, but busy enough that they would get lost in the crowd. It was a good thing too, because they didn't want people staring at them any more than necessary.

They decided to look at the results before they ate, because if they waited and ate, the potential for vomiting might get higher. So it sat, again, in the middle of their table and Chris looked to Stephanie, who was biting her lip. The room seemed to quiet around them, but they didn't know if it was their own ears drowning out the afflicting sound, or it was just that the room got quiet. They figured it was the former and they'd be correct. The hubbub around them was still there, but they tuned it out in the face of the outcome.

"You want to do the honors?" Chris asked. Stephanie looked up at him and saw a kind of fear in his eyes, but beyond that, she thought she saw hope. That gave her the strength to do this. If Chris was the least bit hopeful, she needed to do this for him.

She picked up and opened it, the paper ripping loudly to them. Chris's hands were shaking, and he gripped the table in front of him to steady himself. Stephanie looked at him and gave him a shaky smile. She pulled out the paper inside and read it over, her eyes darting back and forth, back and forth like a fish swimming in a bowl. She looked up and bit her lip. Chris's eyes were widening, begging her to tell him.

"She's yours."

Chris had a daughter.

And then just like that, things were different.

Just in that one second, that single moment, things had changed. Chris became "Dad," and life became complicated. How complicated they would have yet to find out, but it would be complicated. There were people to tell, there was press to throw off their backs, there were exes to tell, but most importantly, there was a little girl, sitting in a classroom not ten miles away that didn't know her life had changed forever. There was a little girl who had lost one father and gained another.

Chris reached his hand out shakily to get the papers from Stephanie. She handed them over willingly and he took them, licking his lips a little as he read down. Yes, it said it right there, in black typed ink, he was, without a doubt, Ferris Helmsley's father…or…well, what was her name now? Chris had no idea, and that was just another thing to add to the long list. But there were other things that were coming to his mind now. Things to be done, said, whatever, but the list was growing longer.

He had to be her dad, he just had to be, there was no way that he wasn't going to be her father. Now that he knew, he had to make up for lost time. Sure, that's a cliché, and it would never happen because you're only given so much time to do anything anyways, but that didn't matter. He was going to somehow make it up to her. He loved her already, that wasn't the problem. The problem was he didn't know her for many years, and it tore at his heart to think he had a child out there that he didn't know about. But he was going to be her dad, and she was going to be his daughter.

"Yeah, so she's yours," Stephanie said, hoping that he would say something to her, anything to her.

"Yeah, she's mine," he said, still shell-shocked. "This is…I have no words."

"I'm sorry," she said immediately.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her.

"This is my fault," she lamented. "This is all my fault. I should've told you that we slept together. I should've told you, I should've remember, and I should've told you about Ferris. This is completely, it's all on me. All of it."

"Stephanie, no it's not," he said, running his hand through his hair. He sighed and looked up at him. "It's not your fault at all."

"But I should've told you!"

"Stephanie, I was there too and I couldn't remember, that's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten so drunk I didn't remember sleeping with you. You didn't remember, that's not your fault, your memory is not your fault. This is both of our faults, it just is. It's too bad that I lost the time, but don't beat yourself up about it."

"How can you be so nice to me when I've been so horrible to you?"

"You haven't been. Stephanie, we can't stop and think about the past. What good is that going to do? It's not going to do any good. We just need to stop this right now, okay, look, we're parents…holy shit, I'm a parent."

Stephanie couldn't help herself, she laughed and Chris's head shot up to look at her critically, "I'm sorry, just the way you said that was funny."

He laughed too, "This is so surreal, you don't expect to find that you have an almost eight-year old daughter with your girlfriend who you've been with for less than a year. That's just a tiny bit strange."

"It _is_ strange," she conceded. "We have to tell her, you know."

"I know, and it's not going to be easy. She might be confused. And then with Keagan, she's going to be confused too. I mean, is she going to start thinking she's my daughter too…she's not my daughter, right?"

"No, no chance of that being the case," she said, "Though it might be easier if she was…still though, Chris, I'm sorry that I let things get this bad, but I really do want you to be a part of Ferris's life. She's lucky to have you, I know you'll do right by her."

"Hunter is going to kill me and you, you know that right?"

"Oh, I know, but there's nothing he can do, she's your daughter, and that's it," Stephanie said, sounding sad and pathetic. "I just don't…this whole situation is confusing. I'm sorry, here I am, crying and stuff and you just found out you were a father."

"Hey, she's your daughter too," Chris pointed out.

"Yeah, so I guess…well, I guess we can work out a schedule or something since we're…uh, not together anymore," Stephanie said, broaching the subject carefully. Now that Ferris's paternity wasn't called into question, they had other things to think about, and being apart, and breaking up was part of that. "Since you…broke up with me. I do hope that you stay close by…and I hope that your girlfriend doesn't mind that you have a daughter."

"My…girlfriend?" Chris asked, narrowing his eyes a little bit at what she was saying.

"Yeah, your…uh, girlfriend, lady friend, I'm not sure exactly what to call her. I mean…I saw the magazine, Chris, so you don't have to hide anymore. I mean, I know you've been tiptoeing around the subject since you came back, but you can stop now because I know."

"I've been tiptoeing around the subject?" he echoed in confusion.

"Yes, I saw it in the magazine, I saw that you had a new girlfriend, you don't have to lie."

"What magazine?"

"I don't really remember, there was a picture of you with a woman, eating on the beach. I saw it, and it was then that I knew that you had really broken up with me. I'm dealing with it slowly, but I just need to know if you'll stay by here so you can see her."

Chris thought back to lunch on the beach and realized that Stephanie had seen a picture of him and Denise having lunch. He cursed the paparazzi for a second, just assuming that whoever he was with was his girlfriend. No, it was just one of his best friend's wives. He looked to Stephanie, who was putting up a brave front for her. He studied her for a moment and didn't like what he was doing to her, making her think that she wasn't important, that she was just some other notch on his bedpost.

"I do have a girlfriend," he told her somberly.

She nodded, getting the real confirmation that it was over. "Oh…okay. I accept that. I get that you would want to be away from me. Thank you for telling me though, and I know that it wasn't your fault your picture was taken. Just…um, with Ferris…"

"Yeah, well…"

"Does your girlfriend like kids?" Stephanie asked, trying to sound like it didn't matter, but her heart was breaking on the inside.

"She loves them."

"Good, good, I wouldn't want her to...I'm sorry, Chris, I can't sit here and pretend it doesn't hurt, I'm sorry," Stephanie said. "I need to go, I just…I need to go, we'll work out custody at some other time okay?"

She stood up to go because she just couldn't stay here to look across from him and he wouldn't be hers. Before she could turn his hand was on her arm and she turned to ask him to let her go, and Chris spoke, "I have a girlfriend, her name is Stephanie McMahon…"

Her eyes lit up as she stared at him, "What?"

"The girl in the magazine, that I had lunch with at the beach was Denise, Christian's wife."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, you're my girlfriend, Steph, and despite all of this, we'll work through it. The only thing that matters is that I love you, and I love the life we're building here. Ferris is just…she's something I'll have to get used to, but it doesn't make me love her or you any less. Stay okay, because the only girlfriend I want is you."

She sat down and smiled at him. "Are you kidding with me? Cause if you are--"

Chris leaned across the table to kiss her, "Does that seem like I'm kidding."

"Well, give me another and we'll see…"


	38. Chapter 38

Stephanie was a tiny bit weary. It seemed odd that Chris had been so easy to get back together with. It was only a couple days before that he was states away, trying to figure out what he wanted. Then he comes back and they're here and everything is suddenly so gung-ho. It worried Stephanie. It had all been way too easy. It had all just been so easy and so neatly tied up in a package for her. It shouldn't be this easy. Chris should be screaming and yelling at her for lying to him for years. He should hate her guts and want her out of his sight, that's what should happen.

He shouldn't be here holding onto her. He shouldn't be behind her, holding onto her waist with his chin on her shoulder while they waited for the girls to get out of school so they could all go home. It just didn't seem right to her, well, it felt right in the sense that she loved being with Chris, but why wasn't he angrier with her?

Chris sighed a little and looked at his watch. "Man, I hope that they get out soon, I'm tired of standing here."

"With me?" she wondered.

"Um, yeah, I'm with you, what does that matter?" Chris asked.

"Oh, never-mind," Stephanie said, feeling foolish. She didn't need to bring this up right now when the girls were going be coming out very soon. They could leave this discussion for later this evening when they were alone and the girls were in bed.

"No, what did you mean by that?" Chris inquired, turning to look at her critically. "Obviously that was meant as something and I want to know what you meant by that."

"Chris, can we just talk later?"

"Well, you're the one who's saying all this cryptic crap, so yeah, I think now would be an apt time to think about it, don't you?" he told her.

"I knew you were mad at me," she said, taking in his harsh tone. She pulled away from him and leaned against the car, staring off into space and trying to ignore him. She just wanted to ignore him for now. He should be mad and she had to wonder if he was only not mad with her because she was now the mother of his child.

"What? I'm not mad at you, I was just wondering what you meant, how can you think I'm mad at you?" he asked again, wanting to find out the answers. She was really acting strangely now and he wanted to get to the bottom of this in the moments before the girls would come over and feel the tension. Now he wasn't really anticipating their arrival.

"Because of what happened," she hissed. "I mean, you're gone for days and days, and suddenly, everything's okay with us, we barely even talk about it and yet everything is okay with us?"

Chris shook his head. "Stephanie, yes, we have a lot of things to resolve and yes, we're going to have to talk about a lot of things, but this…us, everything that we have, I don't want to throw it away, do you?"

She hesitated, not wanting to look stupid, but she had a feeling she was already looking that way to him. She looked down at the ground, kicking a rock absently as she went to look back up at him. He was still looking at her intensely and she felt naked under his scrutiny. "No, of course not, I love being with you, I love _you_, but I'm just thinking that it was way too easy. You were so mad at me."

"Yes, I was mad at you, but I had no reason to be. I had time to think about it, Stephanie, and it's just as much my fault as it is your fault that any of this happened. I got drunk and didn't remember, and that's irresponsible of me. Sleeping with someone and not remembering, that's not my style. I had to realize that this doesn't fall completely on you."

"But still, over the past eight or so years, I should've thought to myself about the timing," she said, her eyes sad. "I should've realized because I did wake up that morning first and saw."

"But you honestly couldn't have been too sure that we did have sex, regardless of our state of undress. We both could've gotten naked, went to do it and then fell asleep or passed out from the alcohol that we consumed. You didn't know what exactly happened either."

"I know," she said softly, "but it just feels like this is all my fault. It feels like I'm the one completely in the wrong here while you were the innocent victim who never got to know his daughter. You should hate me for that, for missing so much of Ferris's life."

"I can't, and I won't," he said. "What happened, happened, and I'm a fan of looking ahead, okay. We're together now, we know now and I have the rest of my life with her, and that's good enough for me, I missed some stuff, yeah, but you know, who's to say that I can't have that again with other children, if I'm granted other children?"

"Other children?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly.

Chris shrugged and kissed the tip of her nose, "Yeah, other children, I figure if you're the mother of my existing child, you should be the mother of all the rest of my children too, does that sound okay to you?"

Stephanie laughed, and then spoke softly, "You really don't hate me?"

"I really don't hate you," he told her, emphasizing every syllable. "So get it out of your head that I should punish you, or hate you or something because I don't. It's going to take me some time to get over the shock, but I learned my lesson. Stephanie, I love you, and I spent way too long wanting you to give you up now."

"You shouldn't have wanted me, I'm nothing but trouble for you."

"I happen to love trouble," he said, pulling her away from the car and into his arms.

"I love you," Stephanie told him, hugging him back. Maybe some things in life were supposed to be easy. It didn't mean that things were going to be simple for right now, but sometimes things could be easily resolved, even when they had been deemed impossible not long before that moment. This was one of those times, maybe they had taken the scenic route to this destination, but they had arrived there anyways.

"Good, good," he told her as they heard the final bell ring. "God, finally, I was starting to wonder if schools had extended their days and we didn't get the memo."

She laughed and pulled away from him, but still kept herself near him, as if to reassure herself that he was there and she wouldn't go home to an empty bed that evening. She had grown accustomed to Chris, like that song in _My Fair Lady_, she had grown accustomed to his face. It wasn't like she was going to go make him fetch her, her slippers or anything (watch the movie, you'll know what that means), but she had definitely grown accustomed to his face.

They waited a few minutes before they saw Keagan and Ferris walking over to them with wide smiles. They were both just thrilled to see Chris back permanently it seemed and with their mother again. She had seemed so sad while Chris was gone, and though they didn't say anything to her, they both could sense that something bad had happened with their mommy and Chris. But then Chris had come back and it seemed that everything was back to normal, much to their relief.

For Chris, it was like seeing Ferris for the first time, and that was a peculiar feeling for him. He had seen her everyday for a while now, and he had seen her as a baby, one that he didn't know was his, but as a baby nonetheless, but he was seeing her for the first time as his daughter. It was strange, not like seeing a newborn, but like seeing something you had wanted to see but had never gotten the chance to see until this very moment. That probably made no sense to anyone, but it made a lot of sense to him.

He had always wanted to have children, but with his busy lifestyle and turnstile of girlfriends, he had never really met a woman that he felt he could have children with. When you dated models who only cared about staying between a size 0 and a size 2, or actresses who had to stay skinny for the cameras, children weren't really on their minds much, if at all. Yet for Chris, children had never seemed like a bad thing. So he always wondered what it would be like to have a child and see that child for the first time. He had wanted a child.

Now he was seeing that child, and she was right in front of him and he knew her and he had seen her smile and heard her voice and knew what she liked and didn't like. In the scant few hours since he had found out that Ferris was most definitely his, he had begun to mentally note the things that could definitely be attributed to him. He wouldn't take credit for all of Ferris's intelligence because Stephanie and her family were full of smart people, but so was his family, so he took partial credit for that. She had his smile though, he had just noticed, and the blue of her eyes were much clearer than Stephanie's, now that he had really looked. The lightness of her brown hair was another indication and then it all just came back to that smile, the one she was giving him right now. His little girl was smiling at him and it was…well, how do you even describe that kind of feeling?

"Mommy! Can I play soccer?" Keagan asked as she ran over.

"Right now?" Stephanie asked.

"No," Keagan said like it should've been obvious that she wasn't talking about right this second. "Evie is going to play on a team and I want to play on a team too," she whined.

"Oh, well then, I'll have to call Evie's mommy or daddy and ask them about it. Are you sure that you want to play soccer though, you're not very old."

"I'm old," Keagan said. "I'm old enough for soccer, Mommy. Chris, do you like soccer?"

"Well, I've never really been a huge fan, but if you were going to play soccer, I bet I would become your biggest fan," Chris told her with a kind smile and Keagan looked to Stephanie expectantly.

"Mommy, are you going to be my biggest fan too?"

"Of course I would be your biggest fan, I'd cheer you on and then I'd kick any other mommy's butts that say anything bad about you," Stephanie said, making a mean face for Keagan who giggled. "But if everything checks out, I don't see why you couldn't play soccer."

"Yay!" Keagan said happily. "Can I go tell Evie?"

"You can tell Evie tomorrow, okay sweets?" Stephanie said. "I think that we just want to go home."

"I got homework tonight, Mommy," Keagan said very seriously.

"Wow, homework, that's very important," Stephanie responded as she smiled at Chris, who was smiling back at Keagan's antics. Ferris was talking with one of her classmates, a little ways away, who had run to catch up to her. "What's your homework?"

"I have to collect leaves because we're going to do an art project," Keagan explained. "Chris, will you help me find leaves? You and Mommy can help, the teacher said that you could."

"Of course," Chris nodded. "I love to look for leaves."

Keagan grinned and hugged Stephanie's leg as Ferris walked over. Stephanie watched Chris's reaction and he did have a look of almost wonder on his face. It brought up the fact that they actually had to tell people about this new development, and that was going to be more difficult than actually finding out of Ferris was Chris's daughter. She didn't look forward to telling Hunter most of all. He was going to rip something to shreds; she just hoped it wasn't Chris.

"Hi Mommy, hi Chris," Ferris said as she walked over. "Are we going to go home now?"

"Yeah, we're going to go home," Stephanie said, answering for the suddenly tongue-tied Chris. She knew that he was searching for the words, and she nudged him on the side and he turned to her and she mouthed to just be himself around her. Chris nodded, but he knew that was easier said than done.

"Hey Bueller, do you have homework tonight?"

"Yeah, but not a lot," Ferris said as she came to stand next to Chris. Chris took a deep breath and looked at Stephanie who smiled. She couldn't help it, she saw the resemblance now, clear as day and it warmed her heart in ways she couldn't imagine happening. It was the first time she had realized what she had given Chris.

When they got home, things went as usual. Ferris sat at the kitchen table as Stephanie helped her with her homework and Chris and Keagan ran all around the backyard collecting leaves for her homework, Keagan turning down the ones that weren't pretty enough. Eventually they all came in and ate dinner together, and after that, they went and watched television together, like a normal family.

Keagan was nestled in Stephanie's lap, leaning her head against Stephanie's collarbone as Ferris was snuggled against Chris's side. Stephanie kept glancing over at the two of them as they sat there, unbeknownst to either one of them. She couldn't help it; she couldn't take her eyes off of them, they were just so incredibly cute together. She wanted to take a picture of the two of them, capture the moment forever. She wanted to remember this, this time when everything seemed so good, before the truth finally came out, before she had to tell people what had happened.

Chris felt someone's eyes on him and he looked over to see Stephanie looking at him. He stuck his tongue out at her playfully and she smiled, letting it reach her eyes as they sparkled with something more than the light from the television. She was happy, and she knew that Chris's stomach was fluttering with happiness. She was happy that he had that, and that the truth was not hanging over their heads now. Chris felt Ferris snuggled into his side a little bit more, getting more tired by the moment and blinking her eyes slowly.

There was a lot that had to happen after this, a lot to clear up. Chris and Stephanie knew the journey was not yet over, and would only get tougher from here on out. There was so much happening and so many people to tell that it could be overwhelming, but just for this moment, they let the fact they were a family wash over them. They weren't conventional and they weren't "official," but they were a family all the same, and that was a perfect feeling. Chris looked over at Stephanie again and she watched as he mouthed two words to her while smoothing the sleepy Ferris's hair back.

"Thank you."


	39. Chapter 39

"We have to tell her, you know."

"I was thinking we keep it a secret, of course we have to tell her," Chris told Stephanie as they lay in bed after having some mind-blowing make-up sex. Stephanie almost wished that she and Chris would fight again so they could have more sex, but she was pretty wiped out right now. He brushed some of her hair away from her face. "It's just a matter of when we're going to tell her."

"Soon, like tomorrow," Stephanie said, looking up at Chris. "Does that sound okay? If you want to do it at another time, I mean, we can wait, it's up to you…I'm the one that kept it from you."

"I think it should be up to _us_, actually," Chris told her. "She's…our daughter, wow, that is so weird to say, I just…she's _our_ daughter. Our little girl. She's ours."

Stephanie giggled and turned to look up at Chris, grabbing his chin and bringing his mouth down to hers. She kissed him fiercely, smiling into it. She thought that Chris was adorable with his awe over Ferris being his daughter. It was something missing from Hunter and his daughters, or rather, daughter. Hunter didn't seem to care, but Chris was just so in awe of the whole thing, and she knew that it was probably because it was new, but it was refreshing nonetheless.

"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away.

"For accepting all of this," she said. "I mean, any other guy, and they might've been running for the hills."

"I can't run, I have no home if I run," Chris told her with a chuckle. "Besides, we're together, and I'm happy to have a kid, I've never had a kid before. I just, I'm just still a little bit in shock over this. I have a daughter!"

Stephanie laughed, "Okay, I'm a little scared to think about what you'd do if I were to tell you I was pregnant."

"Don't even joke," he told her, moving over so he was hovering over her. "Because you cannot lay here and joke about that kind of thing. If you weren't joking, I might have to just keel over right now because I'd die from the happiness."

"No, no pregnancy," she told him, "but if I was, even if I suspected it, I would tell you because I would not want to keep it from you again, I swear to that, Chris."

"Well, we're together now, so if you were pregnant, I don't think you would've been able to hide it from me since I sleep next to you."

"I promise though, the next time I get pregnant, I won't hide it from you. I want you to be there from the beginning, and for every stupid milestone, I swear," she told him earnestly.

Chris smiled softly at her, his eyes dancing a little, "Steph, I forgave you, you don't have to keep apologizing and apologizing for something that you weren't really aware that you knew. I don't want you to completely beat yourself up about this."

"I'm sorry, but it's hard not to," she told him. "I mean, you missed out on so much, and I could've prevented that. You must think I'm horrible, at least a little bit, please think that I'm a little bit horrible because I can't stand the fact that you're being so nice about this when you really should be bitching me out."

He laughed and ran a finger down her arm where he went to intertwine their fingers together. She felt him rub her knuckles with his thumb and she looked down at his chest, wondering why he couldn't just be a tiny bit mad at her. He should at least be madder than he had been. She deserved more; she deserved to be treated poorly for at least a month, maybe more, definitely more.

"What good is it going to do to punish you? For a mistake you didn't even know you made," Chris told her. "In case you haven't noticed, the business that I'm in, it's pretty cutthroat. You don't know who you can trust, and the people you think that you can trust end up stabbing you in the back at their first opportunity. I've learned over the years to watch my back, and to know who my friends are."

"And I'm someone that stabbed you in the back," she protested, almost pleading with him to be angry with her. It would make her feel more normal if the guy she had lied to for almost eight years would be angry with her. Maybe it was to repay his pain with pain of her own, but she just wanted to feel bad.

He shook his head and leaned forward so that his forehead was lightly touching hers. "Stephanie, you didn't do anything wrong, if I'm not punishing you, stop punishing yourself. You think that I should be mad at you, but I'm through with that. You only find love once in this lifetime, if you're lucky, some people never find it. I've found it, and you think I'm going to ruin that by being petty and angry over something neither one of us had control of, you're stupid. I'm not going to ruin the best thing in my life."

"You're too nice," she whispered to him.

"It's in my nature," he told her. "I have to keep my cool about this though, because if I don't, I'm liable to lose everything I love, and the last thing that I want to do is lose you, or lose our…my...daughter."

"It sounds good when you say it," she admitted to him. "It sounds really good."

"I know," he told her, and she could tell that he was really trying to curb the giddiness in his voice. "I just can't get over how good that sounds. It's like, it's real, I have a kid, I have a daughter, and she's smart and beautiful and well-spoken, and I don't have to change dirty diapers!"

She laughed outright at that. "Do you want me there when you tell her?"

"What, are you crazy? Stephanie, we're going to tell that little girl together. I don't think that I could do something like that alone. It's going to be scary for the both of us. She may hate me."

"She won't hate you, she doesn't hate you, if anything, I think she's going to be excited, but more than that, I think she's going to be confused. I just want to make this transition as easy as possible for her, and for us. I want to get the birth certificate changed, and with the documentation that shouldn't be too hard, and then we should probably change her last name to Irvine, you know, because that's your last name and everything. Then I think we have to inform her school and then her physician and all of that and--"

"Tell Hunter," Chris added.

Stephanie closed her eyes and then opened them, and they were a little frightened now, "He's going to kill you, and then me, and then take away the girls."

"I wouldn't let him do that and you know it," Chris told her jokingly, but there was an edge of truth in his words as well. "She's _my_ daughter, Steph, and I'm going to take responsibility for that honor. I'm not going to let him ruin this."

"He's not going to like it though," she told him. "He's going to hate it and he's going to think that I planned this or something. He'll call me a whore and it'll be true."

"Um, no it won't," he said, starting to get his ire up. "He's the one who wanted some bogus separation so he could sleep with some other woman. You were just hurting and in your hurt you did something that you probably shouldn't have done, but it wasn't anything that he wasn't doing himself so why the hell should he get to talk? He's the one who left you high and dry."

"I know, but he's Hunter, he's going to believe what he wants to believe. He's going to want Keagan, and he's going to probably want Ferris too. He won't believe it I'm sure, he'll question it, then he'll bring it out in the open and oh God, that's how it'll leak to the media!" Stephanie was frantic now. "Oh God, it's going to ruin your reputation and everything, and all because of me!"

"Shh," Chris said, putting a finger to her lips to quiet her down, but the panic still resided in her eyes, "It's okay, I talked to my manager, and we'll figure this out. And if it ruins my reputation, well, at least I wasn't caught with a hooker or something."

"Yeah, I guess…but there's so much to think about, so much to consider. Oh, God, this is overwhelming."

"I know, but first things first, tomorrow, we have a little girl to tell."

The next day came all too fast, as days usually do. The days you dread are here before you know it while the days you want to savor are over before you can blink. Stephanie and Chris had decided to wait until after school to tell Ferris, obviously, since Ferris would never want to miss school, and even though this was big news and a big adjustment, education came first. But then the end of the day came all too quickly and Stephanie was dropping off Keagan at Linda's house to spend the afternoon. As much as she loved her daughter, Stephanie knew that having her around would not be a good idea when she had to tell her eldest daughter something that would change her life.

"Couldn't I stay with Grandma too?" Ferris asked as Stephanie drove the two of them home.

"No, I'm sorry sweets, but Chris and I have to talk to you about something really important and we thought it best if Keags goes to see Grandma," Stephanie explained. Ferris pursed her lips and looked out the window.

"Am I in trouble, Mommy?" Ferris wondered, hoping that she wasn't.

"Of course not, Fer, we just needed to tell you something. It's not anything bad, at least we hope it's not anything bad, but we just need it to be the three of us right now."

"Okay," Ferris said, and she was a little scared at what her mother and Chris were going to tell her. She was older than Keagan and she had the wherewithal to know that she understood things better than her little sister. Her mother had always treated her as something of an older kid, smart enough to be talked to about things.

She was scared that her mother and Chris were going to tell her that they weren't going to be together anymore. It was a fear that Ferris had had since Chris had gone to Florida and she had seen the same look in her mother's face that she wore when her father had left. She knew that look, and she hated that look because she hated to see her mother upset. She had heard her mother cry while Chris was gone, and she had hoped and prayed that Chris would come back, and when he had, it was like Christmas, and everything had seemed okay now, but maybe it wasn't real, maybe they were playing pretend.

She didn't want Chris to leave. She had become accustomed to him, and he made her mommy happy, which made her happy. Chris was nice too, and he always treated her the same way that her mother treated her. She liked to feel important, like she was a grown-up, and she liked that Chris made her feel that way. She didn't want to lose him like she had lost her father. She wanted him to stick around, like he had promised he would.

When they got home, she got out of the car reluctantly, wondering what was going to happen. Stephanie came round the car and took Ferris's hand in her own and gave it an encouraging squeeze. The house loomed large in front of the both of them, and it seemed daunting somehow, like it held something evil inside. Stephanie opened the door with her key and heard Chris rummaging around the kitchen.

"Chris, we're home!" Stephanie called out. The rummaging ceased and the two of them saw Chris come out of the kitchen and into the living room where they had gone to.

"Hey," he said nervously, hands shoved in his pockets as he went to sit on the couch. Stephanie and Ferris did the same and he smiled at Ferris, hoping that it would reassure the little girl. It didn't. "So how was school, Fer?"

"Okay," she said succinctly, looking between the two adults. "Are you sure I'm not in trouble, Mommy?"

"No, you're not in trouble honey," Stephanie said. "What Chris and I have to tell you right now is very important, and you might not understand, but you still need to hear it, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, her eyes looking frightful. Stephanie sighed and wondered if she should start or if Chris should start. Chris cleared his throat and she looked over at him and wondered if that meant he was going to take over. The two of them waffled back and forth with their eyes, neither one wanting to drop the bomb on the poor, clueless little girl.

Stephanie finally decided to take it first, "You see, Fer, you know how I've known Chris for a long time?"

"Yeah, because he used to wrestle for Grandpa," Ferris answered, knowing this well since she would watch tapes of Chris and he would tell her stories about what it had been like to be a wrestler. She didn't understand where this was going. Maybe it had to do with Chris going back to WWE, like they had said before. She could live with that.

"Okay, well, yeah, Chris and I have known each other for a long time. And when we used to know each other, I was married to Daddy, and during one time, Daddy decided that he didn't want to be with me anymore."

"Like now?"

"Yeah, just like now," Stephanie nodded. "And Chris was there to comfort me when I was really sad."

"That's very nice of you, Chris," Ferris said seriously, wondering if this was what they wanted to say, because if it was, she didn't understand why Keagan couldn't be here to hear it. It wasn't anything bad.

"It was _very _nice of him," Stephanie said. "But something happened between me and Chris that was very important. Do you uh…well, you know where babies come from, right?"

"Right," Ferris said, knowing because she had asked the infamous question of her mother, and while Stephanie hadn't been too graphic, she had given her daughter the cursory little kid answer that started off with, "When two people love each other…"

"Well, Mommy and Chris loved each other for a little while, and when we loved each other," Stephanie said, hoping this didn't confuse the poor girl. "Well, when we were together, we actually kind of had…well, I mean, it's like…I mean to say…Daddy isn't your daddy."

"What?" Ferris asked, looking at Stephanie. "Mommy, Daddy's my daddy. He's my daddy."

"I know that you think that, sweetie, but something happened, and I realized that Daddy isn't your daddy, he's not the one that helped me make you, you know, when you make babies and all of that," Stephanie felt like she was floundering now, like a fish out of water, and she wondered how in God's name she was going to make this seven-year old girl understand that her father, the only man she knew as her father wasn't her father at all.

"Fer, what your Mommy is trying to say is that she made a mistake and that your daddy isn't really your daddy…uh, I'm your daddy," Chris told her slowly. Ferris's lip curled up as she looked at Chris, her eyes wide like saucers as she looked to her mommy and then back to Chris.

"Chris is my daddy?" Ferris asked incredulously. "But…I thought that Daddy was…"

"I know you did, sweets, I did too," Stephanie said. "But then I started to think about it and I realized that I didn't think that Daddy was your daddy, and then remember when we went to the doctor and they put that Q-Tip in your mouth?"

"Yeah," Ferris said.

"Well, they were doing tests to see if you were Chris's daughter, and the tests said that you were Chris's daughter, and not Hunter's, so Daddy isn't your daddy, and Chris is your daddy. And I know that it's very hard to understand, and that's okay," Stephanie said, wrapping an arm around Ferris. "It is okay to be confused."

"Chris is my daddy?" Ferris repeated. "He's my daddy and not Daddy?"

"That's right," Chris told her.

"Does Daddy know!" Ferris asked frantically. "Is that why he doesn't want to see me? Because he's not my daddy?"

"No, no, no," Stephanie assured her. "Daddy doesn't know yet, we haven't told him yet, you were the first person that we told because we knew that you were the most important person to tell. I know that it's hard for you to understand what we're saying, honey, but we'll all figure this out together."

"I have to keep it a secret from Daddy?"

"For now. Chris and I are going to tell Daddy what happened. You don't have to deal with Daddy, is that okay with you?"

"Chris, are you Keagan's daddy too?" asked the shell-shocked little girl. She didn't understand this. She was a smart, little girl, but she didn't understand one lick of this. Her father wasn't her father, and Chris was her father. It almost felt like her mother had just decided this, which only sought to confuse her more. She didn't know what to do or what to say. So she sat there, asking questions, trying to understand a grown-up problem with a child's mind.

"No, I'm not Keagan's daddy, just yours," he explained.

"Will Daddy stop loving me?" Ferris asked.

"Honestly, honey, I don't know," Stephanie said regretfully. She didn't want to lie to her little girl because she knew her ex-husband. There was no way he was going to even want to interact with her once he found out, and accepted, the truth. Hunter was not a stand-up guy. He would walk out of her life just as surely as he walked in.

"Oh," Ferris said quietly. "He won't love me because he's not my daddy?"

"Hey Fer," Chris said, coming to kneel in front of her. "I know I'm new to this dad thing, and everything, but I promise you that I'm going to try to be the best daddy that I can be to you. I want to be your daddy so much, and I hope that you'll let me try. I know that you're used to having Hunter as a daddy, and I'm not used to having a daughter, but I think we can try, do you think that you can try?"

"Yeah," Ferris said, but she was unsure of herself. "I think so."

"Great, and it won't change that much."

"We're going to have to change a few things," Stephanie told her, "but not right now. Right now it's all about you and getting you to adjust. I'm sorry that we sprung this on you, Ferris, but you deserved to know the truth."

"Do…do I have to call you Daddy?" Ferris asked, looking at Chris.

"Do you want to?" he asked her. He wasn't going to tell her what to do with this. He hoped against hopes to hear the words from her, but he knew that she was still in shock and confused about it all.

"I don't know," she told her. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Chris said, giving her a hug. "I couldn't be mad at you over this. If you never want to call me Daddy, I could understand that too. If you just want to call me Chris, I'm fine with that."

"Okay, Chris," Ferris said, giving him a light hug back.

"We're still cool, right Bueller?"

"Right," she told him, but she wasn't sure if she was alright with this. She knew that she had told her daddy that she had wanted Chris as a daddy, but she hadn't expected for it to come true. Maybe that's why he was her daddy, because she had wished it and it had come true. Maybe she had made some awful mistake! If she had wished it and it came true, maybe her daddy would be angry with her and not love her anymore, if he loved her at all. She didn't know how to feel, or how to think about any of this.

Stephanie looked down to her daughter and knew that Ferris was conflicted and confused, and she didn't blame her. How does a seven-year old adjust to this? Stephanie feared that she had just screwed up her daughter's life. Maybe she had just set the turns for having a daughter with issues. Maybe she needed to start therapy for her now. The little girl had no idea about how to proceed with this.

But then, neither did Chris or Stephanie.


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: Things look to be getting interesting, leave a review, and thanks in advance. :)

* * *

"She's quiet."

"She's always pretty quiet," Chris said as they stood near the doorway to the playroom where Ferris was sitting by her lonesome. She was reading a book, but she didn't look as into it as she usually did. But could you really blame her? She had just heard one of the most shocking things _anyone_ could hear, and she was under the age of ten, which made it even harder to deal with.

"I should talk to her," Stephanie said. "I don't think she took it very well. I mean, I wouldn't take it very well if my mom told me that my dad wasn't my dad, and she's so young and we probably shouldn't have sprung it on her like that."

"How else could we have done it, Steph?" Chris asked. "Unless you didn't want her to know at all."

She looked at Chris and could see that he was hiding his hurt with that statement. She wasn't thinking of him, and she should be. Ferris wasn't the only one dealing with a change here, and just because Chris was an adult didn't mean that he couldn't be scared or upset too. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly, giving it a supportive squeeze. He looked down at her and she gave him a sorry smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm being inconsiderate to you too," Stephanie whispered to him, stepping closer so they were face to face, noses almost touching. "How are you doing?"

"I think she hates me," Chris told her, and Stephanie shook her head vehemently. "No, hear me out. Why shouldn't she? It seems like I'm the one who took her father away from her. She has this dad and suddenly here I come and I take over the position. How could she not hate me?"

"She doesn't hate you, trust me on this one. I don't think she hates anyone," Stephanie told him. "She may dislike people, or be angry with people, but she would never hate someone, least of all you. She likes you, Chris, she's liked you since the day you came back into our lives. Don't you remember how she wanted me to ask you to come with us that day? She loves you."

"That was before I told her that I was her father."

Stephanie laughed sympathetically and then threw a look at the door to the playroom. "Do you want to talk to her?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," Chris said, looking down. "Seriously, I don't think that she's going to want to talk to me. I don't think she wants to see me right now. I'll just go pick up Keagan or something."

"If you want," she said, not wanting to force a connection between him and Ferris right now. There was plenty of time to do that later, they had years upon years, and hopefully their bond would grow and be something of which they could be proud. "I'll talk to her."

"Yeah, that's probably best, you've always been her mom," Chris said. Stephanie pursed her lips together a little bit and then leaned up to Chris and kissed him softly. Chris returned the kiss, glad that she was there, and even if he was scared about the days to come, he was glad that he had a daughter.

Chris gave her one last lingering look and then walked down the hall to grab his keys to go pick up Keagan. Stephanie went to the doorway of the playroom and just watching Ferris sit there. She saw Ferris look up at her and give her a sad smile before going back to her book. Stephanie walked further into the room and sat down on the couch next to Ferris, not saying a word, but just sitting with her.

"How are you, sweets?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm okay," she shrugged, but she wasn't okay and the both of them knew that. "Mommy, can I tell you something?"

"Of course you can tell me something, you can tell me anything that you want to tell me, always," Stephanie encouraged.

"I was the one that made Daddy not my daddy anymore," Ferris confessed, tears brimming in her eyes. "It's all my fault, Mommy!"

Stephanie stared at her daughter, the anguish on her face crystal clear. Stephanie's own lip quivered as she looked at her daughter, who looked like she had just committed murder or something. Stephanie scooted over and took her daughter into her arms. Ferris chose this moment to break completely and Stephanie just hugged her to her body, letting the little girl sob it out. Stephanie leaned her chin against her daughter's brown hair and kissed the crown of her head.

"Shh, sweets, this is _not_ your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine, okay," Stephanie told her. "This is _not_ your fault, this is absolutely not your fault, I promise you that, okay?"

"It is," Ferris sobbed. "I told Daddy that I didn't want him to be my daddy and that I wanted Chris to be my daddy, and then it happened, Mommy, it happened, and it's my fault. I didn't know it would come true, I promise!"

Stephanie started crying too at this point, the tears streaming down her face as she wished that she had realized this years and years ago. She just kept holding Ferris in her arms, feeling like her heart was being torn out at her daughter's tears and tormented confession. She whispered words of soothing nonsense to Ferris, knowing that it wasn't going to completely help her, but hoping that it would help calm her, even a little bit.

"No honey, this didn't happen because you wished it to happen, this happened a long time ago. It's my fault because I didn't realize that Chris could be your daddy. It's okay to be sad though, it's okay that you're scared, I'm scared too."

"But you don't get scared, Mommy," Ferris told her.

"That's not true, I get scared too sometimes," Stephanie told her. She sighed and looked at Ferris. "I was scared to tell you that Chris was your daddy, I was scared that Chris would run away. I was scared of a lot of things. It's okay that we're scared, it doesn't mean that we can't do something to make all that scariness go away."

"Like what?" she wondered.

"Well, I think for one, we're going to have to come to terms with the fact that Chris is your daddy, and he wants to be Fer, he really does. I know that it's going to be weird to have him as your daddy, but he really wants to try. And you don't have to be nice to him because I'm telling you to or anything, it's really up to you what you want to do with that."

"Are you sure it's not my fault?"

"100 percent positive," Stephanie told her with conviction.

"Is Daddy going to be mad at me?"

"No, he's going to be mad at me," Stephanie told her, but Stephanie didn't know that for sure. Hunter was such an up and down guy, and with this situation, she knew that he was going to be a down guy. He wasn't going to love a child that wasn't his, she knew him too well, his pride was too strong for that, "But that's for me and Daddy to deal with, not you. You can still have Daddy be your daddy if you want him to be. You don't have to make Chris your daddy right now. He does want to try though."

"Is Chris mad at me?"

"Never," she said. "Chris loves you, he loves you so much. He's a little scared too, to be your Daddy, but he wants to really try."

"I like Chris."

"I like Chris too."

"Does he want me to call him Daddy?" Ferris inquired.

"When you're ready, and if you're never ready, really, you don't have to call him that," Stephanie said. Ferris sniffled a little bit more. "Sweets, I know that this is strange. I know that. I just want you to be okay, and so does Chris."

"Is Chris Keagan's daddy too?" Ferris asked, and she didn't know what she was hoping then.

"No, but she's still your sister," Stephanie told her. "So she's still the little girl who annoys you and pulls your hair. We just all have to get used to this new arrangement, do you want to try to get used to it?"

"I can try," she told her mother valiantly.

Chris was driving back from Vince and Linda's with Keagan sitting in the backseat, staring out the window. He had some time to think while he was driving. He had kind of been inconsiderate towards Stephanie too. She was in this as well. So was Keagan…so was everyone they knew and their families, oh man, their families. The situation seemed to get bigger and bigger with every passing moment, and Chris just hoped that it wouldn't explode unexpectedly. He was prepared for that though, and if it meant he got a daughter out of it, a smart, beautiful daughter, then he would just have to live with the backlash.

Keagan was in one of her few rare moments of being quiet and so he didn't have her to distract him from his thoughts. He hoped that at some point, and it didn't even have to be the near future, Ferris would accept him as her father. He wanted to be a dad to her, a good dad to her. A little part of him wanted to be a better father than Hunter too. He knew that he could be a better father than that man, he had been doing so since the day Stephanie McMahon walked back into his life. But this was a lifetime thing, a life-changing thing. A few weeks ago, he had no daughter that he knew of, and now he had someone who was part of him.

He turned onto their street and saw a car sitting outside the house and someone getting out of it. He bit his lip as he pulled into the driveway and looked at the man who had been his adversary earlier in his life, and who was still his adversary today. Keagan looked out the window and her eyes lit up and her jaw dropped a little.

"Chris, its Daddy!" Keagan exclaimed, pointing out the window.

"I see that," Chris told her. He got out of the car and then helped Keagan get out of the car, Hunter observing the whole thing. Keagan bounded over to Hunter and he lifted her easily. Chris walked over a few steps, but not any more than that. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see the girls, is that a crime now?" Hunter snapped at him as Keagan laid her head on his shoulder. "According to the terms of the custody hearing, I don't need to ask to see them."

"It would've been nice if you had called though, since this isn't your house."

"But these are my daughters," Hunter told him snottily. Chris wanted to say something, the ire in his stomach rising to the surface. He couldn't claim Keagan's paternity, but he could sure as hell claim paternity to Ferris. It was on the tip of his tongue, but this wasn't about getting revenge or trying to get the upper-hand on Hunter. This was about Ferris and the fact that she had a new father and she had to adjust to that. No, Chris could wait for the satisfaction of getting revenge on Hunter.

"Whatever," Chris said. "It still would've been nice if you had called ahead. It's just a common courtesy thing, you know, but I guess you left that behind a long time ago, right?"

"Where's Ferris, I want to see her too," Hunter ignored his previous statement.

"Ferris is inside, Daddy," Keagan informed him.

"Thanks kooky pie," he told her, kissing her cheek. Hunter started walking up the walkway and Chris shook his head at Hunter's audacity. He acted like he owned the house, but it was Chris's named on the deed to the house. He followed him up and opened the door, calling out for Stephanie.

Stephanie walked out and her eyes widened as she saw who was with Chris and Keagan. Chris said sarcastically, "Look who I found sniffing around outside?"

"What are you doing here?" Stephanie asked harshly.

"Like I told the guard dog you have over here," Hunter started, "I came to see my daughters, that's why I'm here. So where's Ferris because I'd like to see her."

"Why do you never call or anything?" Stephanie asked. "Hunter, we have lives around here, we don't cater to your whims. Either you're in or you're out, okay? Either you act like her father or you don't, that's all there is to it. I can't stand your wishy-washiness. You can't come and go whenever you please, you just can't do that to her!"

"Why the hell do you keep saying 'her'?" Hunter asked.

"What?" Stephanie inquired, not even realizing what she was doing. Chris just stood there, not really knowing what to do. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, whatever, I am their father. No, I don't live around here, I live in California. But I am still their father, and they are still my kids. I can see them whenever I want to see them. You may have full custody, but that doesn't mean I'm limited to visitation rights."

"You're never here! You never made the effort until Chris came into our lives," Stephanie called him out. "The only reason why you're here now is to try and show up Chris because you have some weird idea that he's going to steal your daughter from you. That's not even his intention, but you know what, maybe it should be because you've been a lousy father."

"I've been trying to settle my life down."

"You were screwing your physical therapist! Settle _your_ life down, no, no, you don't get to say that, we needed you, we all needed you and you abandoned us for some other girl in some other state. Then you hear that I'm finally, _finally_ happy and you try to ruin it. Stop ruining my life!"

"Look, I'm trying my best here, that's all I can do, I want to do good by Ferris and Keagan because they're my little girls, they're my daughters, not his, not this asshole's!" Hunter screamed.

In that moment, Stephanie lost it. It was too much, the situation, the lies, the past…it all became too much. She broke, whether you could see it or not was inconsequential. But she broke, and she couldn't get it back. There are those moments that get away from you, that float like a bubble, glossy and shiny, floating up in the air, and then it pops and you're stuck there, watching it, wondering how the hell you let it get away.

"Ferris isn't even your daughter!"


	41. Chapter 41

_Oh God, oh God, oh God…_

Stephanie's mind was repeating the same two words over and over again. It would be cliché to say that time stopped, but in that moment, there were no other words to describe what she was feeling. Time was at a standstill, or at least, that's what it felt like. It was going very slowly, almost agonizingly slow, but she was at regular speed. She turned to Chris, whose eyes were wide and staring at her with mouth agape.

She then looked to Hunter, who she swore had steam coming out of his ears. That was what she was afraid of. Hunter was going to lose it, and she had not prepared for this. You never really can prepare for something like this. But she definitely didn't want to just jump into it headfirst without having some sort of plan. But like usual, her mouth got her into trouble, and it had failed her again. She was here and now and she had just revealed the truth to Hunter, and the truth was going to be a detriment and not a blessing.

"What!" Time sped up again and yes, that did appear to be steam coming from Hunter's ears.

She contemplated whether or not she should just lie and say she just told him that to shut him up, but that might be a slippery slope in the wrong direction. If she lied, it could hurt Chris, and Chris had been hurt enough in this situation already. So instead of that, she went over and took Keagan from Hunter's arms and set her on the ground, kneeling in front of her.

"Hey there, Keags, why don't you go see your sister in the playroom and close the door, okay? Your daddy and I need to talk."

"Okay," Keagan said, knowing that there was a lot of tension in the room though she didn't know what tension was at this point. She turned to Chris and smiled. "Are you going to come with me, Chris? Because Mommy and Daddy need to talk."

"No, I think I'm going to stay," Chris said, glancing over at Stephanie. "But I think that your mommy has a really good idea. You and your sister can watch a movie, or color, or do your homework if you have some."

"I don't!" she exclaimed happily, she went to walk away when she suddenly remembered something and turned to Chris and her mommy, "Oh, oh, oh, did I tell you, I get to take home Kinderbear next weekend!"

"Oh wow," Stephanie smiled, forcing it on her face as she felt Hunter's eyes on her, constantly on her, and she wondered if he was even blinking because the stare was relentless and wouldn't budge. "You'll have to tell us over dinner, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," she said, skipping off happily to tell her sister that she got to take home the teddy bear that belonged to the class, who came with lots of outfits to play with.

Without the child in the room, the tension became a million times thicker, and Chris watched for any sign of impeding violence. He would not put it past Hunter to hit, or try to hit, Stephanie, and that disgusted him. Hunter knew no boundaries it seemed, and if he even advanced towards Stephanie in any way, he would be all over Hunter, beating him into a bloody pulp before telling him to get the hell out of his house. He then looked with trepidation at Stephanie, who looked like she was steeling herself under Hunter's gaze, and he knew that this was nothing new for them. It seemed all too familiar with Stephanie, the way she locked her feet to the ground and stood there, knowing that she was weathering this storm. He wondered how bad it must've gotten towards the end of their marriage if she was so ready for a fight.

"Now that Keagan is gone, you mind repeating what you told me earlier?" he asked, his teeth gritted together, and his voice seething.

Stephanie took pause for a minute to collect herself in this very stilted moment and then spoke, "You heard what I said, Hunter."

"No, I heard what you said, but I'm having trouble processing what you said," he told her. "You…you said that Ferris wasn't my daughter, so you tell me right now what the hell you mean by that because it can't mean what I think it means."

"It does," she told him, trying to remain calm. If she kept calm, maybe, just maybe he would keep calm. She knew the likelihood of that happening was slim to none, but she clung to that slim chance because it was all she had right now.

Hunter took a few stinted breaths before talking again, "Okay, I know you're a bitch, Stephanie, I know that you hate me, but what the fuck do you think you're trying to do? Are you trying to scare me with this shit? Because it's not going to work, you're not going to convince me of this shit so I'll leave you and the girls alone."

"It's true," Chris interjected.

"You shut the hell up," Hunter snapped. "This doesn't fucking involve you, it never has. So just go back to being your ignorant, jackass self and leave the family stuff to _my_ family, because no matter how much you want to take them away from me, those girls are my daughters, not yours you asshole."

"Yeah, well that's where you're wrong," Chris said, and Stephanie quickly went over to him and placed her hands on his chest, stopping him from speaking. But you could only hold Chris Jericho back so much. "You want to challenge me in some idiotic game, man, well bring it, because I'm not going anywhere."

"Chris, please," Stephanie hissed, her eyes pleading with him. "Not like this, please, not like this."

"No, Steph," he told her, straining to keep his voice even. "I can't sit back and watch as he tries to worm his way back in after everything that he did to you. I can't watch as he tries to vilify himself for you, just because he's jealous."

"Oh fuck you," Hunter yelled. "I'm not fucking jealous of _you_."

"Stop!" Stephanie exclaimed. "The both of you, please, just stop. This isn't going to take us anywhere. Look, Hunter, there's something I need to tell you, and you're not going to like it, but you know what…whatever."

"Okay, yeah, go right ahead and try to drive me away," Hunter said sarcastically. "Give me all you've got, I'm going to love to hear this…"

Stephanie looked him straight in the eye and said. "You are not Ferris's father. When we were separated, because _you_ wanted to screw around with someone, you told me that I could see whoever I wanted to see, well, I did, to get back at you mostly because you suddenly decided that you wanted to fuck someone else, but I didn't stay dormant, oh no, I went out there and I slept with someone too. Then we got back together, and we had Ferris, only I didn't realize it could've been the other guy's baby. Well, I got a DNA test done this past week, and she's not yours."

Hunter's nostrils flared, that was the only indication that he had heard what she had said. But then a moment later, it seemed as if all hell broke loose inside of him and he was shaking from the anger, visibly shaking and Stephanie leaned back into Chris a little bit. She felt him hold onto her hips lightly as they both watched what Hunter was going to do. He stalked closer to Stephanie and got in her face.

"What the fuck do you mean she isn't my daughter?" he asked, and his voice was the kind of calm that was scary.

"She's…not yours," she repeated, and only was this strong because Chris was behind her.

"You fucking whore!" Hunter erupted. "You stupid, fucking whore! What, you couldn't keep your goddamned legs closed, huh? You were my wife, you bitch, how could you do that to me!"

"Hey, stop calling her names," Chris said threateningly. "Don't you dare pin this on her when you were the one who separated from her in the first place because you wanted to go chase tail."

"Fuck you!" Hunter yelled, shoving Stephanie aside as he got in Chris's face. "You don't even know the first thing about you son of a bitch. So keep your snotty little nose out of my business. This is between me and that fucking slut over there."

"I told you not to call her that," Chris said, stepping even closer. "If I hear one more word like that out of your mouth, I swear I'm going to make it so you can't talk for a month."

"Go ahead, do it," Hunter challenged. "I'll just show you what I've got. I'll make sure you don't wake up, trust that, asshole."

"The only asshole I'm looking at is you."

"What does this even have to do with you, you bastard? This is between me and her. I can't believe you, Stephanie," Hunter said, turning to her. "So you went out and you fucked some guy, and then you go and you're all indignant when I cheated on you, wanting to divorce me and shit."

"You were the one who wanted the separation!" she argued. "I didn't want to be away from you, I was upset, I was going crazy without you, I wanted you so badly, I didn't know what was going on with our marriage. You told me that you wanted to go see other people, I wasn't aware that meant you only and me nothing."

"We were split up for like two weeks!"

"And how many people did you sleep with in those two weeks, Hunter, huh?" Stephanie inquired. That shut him up. "I'm not apologizing for what I did, because you probably did it ten-fold. I didn't realize until recently that she might not be yours, but she's not yours, accept that."

"No, I will not accept that," he told her. "I've been supporting her for the past almost eight years, and now you're telling me I wasted my money!"

"What!" Stephanie said, her voice venomous. "I tell you that the little girl who has loved you for so long is not yours, and the first thing you think of is the financial loss you've taken. What kidn of man thinks that, seriously! You have no idea what she's been through, what she's going to go through and here you are, thinking of how much money she's cost you."

"Well I'm sorry that's the first thing I think of. It's your fault for spreading your legs and letting some guy plow you."

"Stop it," Chris told him. "You know nothing! You are such a fucking bastard. She's a little girl, she had nothing to do with this, why don't you think of someone else for one goddamned second."

"Shut up!" Hunter yelled at him. "So whose is it, do you even know, Stephanie, or have you just narrowed it down to ten or so guys?"

"It's mine," Chris said, and Hunter would've spontaneously combusted right then.

"No," Hunter said, shaking his head, "No fucking way! No, you are _not_ her father. Anyone but you, no…"

"She's mine," Chris said, trying not to sound smug. "She's my little girl. So there you have it, I'm stepping up and being a man and taking care of that little girl, you're relieved of your financial duties, since that's all you seem to care about!"

"You shit-eating bastard!" Hunter yelled, lunging for Chris. He knocked him down to the ground and laid a hard punch right into his jaw. Chris was dazed for a moment before he landed an upper-cut into Hunter's jaw, which equally dazed Hunter, giving Chris a moment's opportunity to knock Hunter onto his back before laying a punch into his large nose. He was going to punch him again when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Let me go, Steph," Chris said angrily, knowing that Hunter would only be out of it for another few seconds.

"No, Chris, it's not worth it, seriously, not worth it," Stephanie told him. Her eyes were so sad that he couldn't and wiping his battered lower lip, he got off of the other man and stood up. Stephanie hugged him and whispered, "Thank you."

"Oh, isn't this a pretty picture? So you find out that you have a kid together, you guys are just so in love," Hunter said snottily. "This is what you had in mind the entire time, isn't it Jericho? You just slip in and steal my family."

"I didn't steal anything, you were the one who started this, you were the one who cheated on her. This is hardly my fault or her fault, seems to me that it's all your fault, so man up."

"Oh, I'll man up alright, yes, I'll man up. Stephanie, thank you, you just proved to me that you're an unfit mother."

"What?" Stephanie asked, confused now. Hunter just smirked at her and wiped his nose, where a little trickle of blood was snaking its way out. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't even know who the father of your child was. I'm going to sue you for custody of Keagan, if she's my daughter, that is, and because of all this," he gestured to her and Chris, "I think that I'm going to have sole custody of her. I don't think she's being raised by someone who is a good person."

"Oh that's rich," Chris guffawed.

"You can't do that," Stephanie said. "You can't take my little girl away from me, she's my daughter, Hunter, she's mine and I'm the only one who's ever been there for her, always, you can't do this!"

"Oh yeah…watch me."


	42. Chapter 42

"What if he takes her, Chris?"

"It's not going to happen, Steph, it's not. There's no way any court in the world would hand Keagan over to Hunter, not a single one."

"But this entire thing with Ferris does not put me in a good light," she said, running her hands through her hair. "It's true, what he said, it makes it look like I was cheating and that I'm an unfit mother and they're going to take her away! I can't have them take her away!"

She sat down heavily on their bed, burying her face in her hands. She was trying to so hard to keep her tears at bay and so far she was doing a good job. She just needed to remain strong, but it was so hard in the face of losing your child. Chris hated to see her like this and he scooted over so he was sitting next to her and kissed her on the cheek, running his hand over her hair, smoothing it down.

"He's not going to take her away," he said firmly. "I'm telling you right now, Stephanie, there's no way that he's going to take away that little girl. After abandoning her for this long, they're not going to go for that, you've been here, and you've hardly been an unfit mother, I bet that you'll have tons of people on your side."

"But that won't matter if the judge thinks that I'm unfit."

"They wouldn't," he said, rubbing his back soothingly. "Trust me on this one okay, you have to trust me."

"I trust you with my life," she admitted, looking up from her hands and over to him, giving him a shaky smile, but it was still a smile and he was still relieved. "I just don't know what I'd do if they took Keagan from me, she's my baby girl, my youngest little girl until we have more…someday. She's the ball of energy around here."

"I know," he told her, smiling as he thought of that little bundle of energy that was named Keagan. "She's an awesome little girl, but we just have to remain calm here. Hunter is obviously trying to rile us up, and he's doing a good job of it right now, I'd say, because he has you thinking all these nonsensical thoughts."

"I'm just scared, I mean, you know what he's capable of," Stephanie said. "You know how much he holds a grudge and I feel like he's going to hold a grudge for a long time over this. At some point in the past, he _did_ care about Ferris, and finding out that she's not his, I know that deep down it was a blow to him."

"I'm sure it was, but what could we realistically do?" he asked. "Just keep it a secret forever? We couldn't do that, I mean, it wouldn't have been right to do that."

"I know this," she said to him. She did want him to know this. She wasn't ashamed now that she knew that he was the father of her daughter. No, she wasn't ashamed at all because Chris was a good man, and he was doing the right thing, and she loved him. She didn't want him to have to hide his love for his daughter. She smiled a little at that thought. "I know that keeping it a secret would've been a major problem, I just didn't want him to find out this way."

"I don't think there's an easy way to tell someone that news," Chris told her. "We just have to move forward and work with what we've got."

"I just…I don't want him to take my baby," Stephanie said with a deep sigh and Chris took her firmly in his arms, hugging her and leaning his chin on her shoulder so he was looking at her profile.

"I swear, he won't, I will make sure of that."

"Mommy…"

Stephanie and Chris looked up in the doorway to see Ferris standing there in her pajamas. Her hair was a little rumpled, but she didn't look like she had been sleeping all that much. Stephanie and Chris looked to each other and wondered what the little girl was thinking. As hard as today had been for her, it had to be even harder for Ferris. Her world had turned upside down, and she was too young to fully know how to deal with everything that had happened and everything that was still to come.

"Hey Fer," Stephanie said, opening her arms to Ferris. Ferris walked over to her slowly and let Stephanie hug her to her body. Her mother was a comfort for her always and she wrapped her smaller arms around her mother's waist. Chris almost felt like he was intruding on a moment here. "What's up?"

"I can't sleep," Ferris told her.

"My poor baby," Stephanie said, kissing her head. "What's the matter?"

"Does Daddy…um…I mean, I don't know what to call him," Ferris said, and her voice was so soft and almost ashamed. He had been her daddy for so long, and now she knew that he wasn't, but she didn't know what he was anymore.

"You can still call him Daddy if you want, sweets, or you can call him Hunter, it's completely up to you," Stephanie told her daughter, trying to ease at least a little bit of the confusion that was swirling around in her young head, swirling around because Stephanie had been so very stupid. Yet, if she hadn't slept with Chris when she did, then she wouldn't have this little girl right now and she didn't want to live without her little girl. She would never regret sleeping with Chris when she did because she got her little girl out of it. Ferris was one of the lights of her life, and if that meant she had to deal with all this shit now, then she would just deal with it.

"Um…Hunter," she said hesitantly, finding it so strange to call her father…or what used to be her father by his first name. "Does he hate me now?"

Honestly, Stephanie didn't know the answer to that question. She couldn't predict Hunter any better than she could predict the weather. She wanted to believe that he didn't hate Ferris, she didn't care if he hated her or Chris, that was fine, let them hate her, but she hoped against hopes that he didn't hate Ferris. Ferris had done nothing wrong, she had just existed and was the daughter of her and Chris. She didn't want to crush the girl though, she didn't want to stomp on her poor, little, hurting heart.

"I don't think so, sweets," Stephanie told her. "I don't see how he could ever hate you."

"But he's not my daddy anymore," she responded. "Shouldn't he hate me now?"

"No, of course not, he loved you before, and I think that once he stops being angry at me than he'll realize that he still loves you very much."

"He was very angry though, I heard him," Ferris told her. "I heard him yelling at you and…Chris, and it sounded like he was very mad."

"He _was_ very mad, very mad at me and Chris," Stephanie said. She looked to Chris for help, but he didn't even know what to say. Part of this was his fault. The reason that Ferris was hurting so badly was partly his fault and that made his entire body hurt, his daughter's pain becoming his pain.

"Fer, everything is going to work out, you'll see," Chris said, rubbing her back. "Everyone just needs some time to adjust, it's a big change for all of us, and once we give it some time to settle down, I think that everything is going to work out. And once Hunter gets over it, I'm sure he'll want to see you and spend time with you like before."

"He didn't really spend time with us before," Ferris pointed out and that made Stephanie and Chris chuckle softly.

"Well, we'll just have to see what happens," Stephanie said.

"Is he going to take Keagan away?" Ferris asked, "I heard you say that he couldn't take Keagan away from you. Is he going to take Keagan away? Is she going to have to go with him? Because I don't want Keagan to go away."

"He is _not_ going to take her away," Chris said, for the benefit of both of them. "We are not going to let that happen, Fer. Keagan is part of our family, and you don't leave your family behind, you fight for them, and if Hunter even thinks about taking Keagan away, we're going to fight for her."

He gave Stephanie a look, one that was fully of steely resolve. He was going to keep that promise. He wasn't going to let the family that he had become a part of be split up by a jealous bastard. He understood Hunter's motives well enough. He had been hurt so he wanted to be the one that did the hurting, but Chris wasn't going to allow that to happen. He loved all the girls living in this house and he wasn't going to lose one of them to someone who was solely doing it out of revenge.

Stephanie wanted to believe him, and a part of her did. But another part was feeling very wary of the entire situation. She knew what Hunter was capable of, and that's what frightened her. She didn't want to go to court; she didn't want to have to fight for her daughter. She had been the only constant in Keagan's young life, and she wanted to keep it that way. Hunter was threatening that, and she felt like she was being pushed more and more into a corner.

"You know, I think that this whole situation has made us all a little crazy," Chris said. "We should go on a trip."

"A trip?" Ferris asked, "But Chris, we have school! We can't go away when there's school!"

"I think we can make the exception just this once," Stephanie said, thinking that the idea of a trip sounded pretty good right now. She could use an escape from her life right this moment. Everything was just so complicated and unnecessarily difficult, and if she could take a little while away from it all, it might help her clear her mind and focus on what needed to be done.

"Are you sure, Mommy? I don't know if my teacher would like that idea very much," Ferris said seriously, scrunching up her face trying to think about her teacher's reaction if she were to miss school. Beyond that, Ferris loved going to school so the thought of missing even a few days was not a fun prospect for her.

"I think if we tell her that we have some family things that need to be worked out she wouldn't be too upset. I know that we've gone through a lot the past couple of days, and I think that it would be good if we could just spend some time away from it all."

"Okay…" Ferris answered, but she was still wary of it. Things were so different now, everything felt different. She looked down a little bit, feeling a little bit uncomfortable again. She was scared that everything she knew was going to go away. It was not a good feeling, and she almost didn't want anything to change at all even though she loved Chris. She was just so used to Hunter being her daddy, and then to have another daddy now…

"Everything okay, Fer?" Stephanie asked her, her voice muffled in her daughter's hair.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, Mommy?" Ferris asked. "I don't want to sleep by myself tonight."

Ferris hasn't asked to sleep in her bed since she was three years old. She had an independent streak like Stephanie did at her age. Still, she couldn't deny her daughter this, not after everything she had piled on her in such a short amount of time. The least she could do was let her daughter sleep with her for one night.

"Sure you can," Stephanie said. Ferris pulled away and smiled up at her gratefully, climbing fully onto the bed and crawling up to the top of the bed and getting underneath the covers so she could be warm. "Chris and I are just going to go brush our teeth and then we'll be in too."

"Okay," Ferris said, but she was already starting to fall asleep. Chris and Stephanie went into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. Stephanie leaned against the sink while Chris leaned back against the wall, looking at her.

"She's so upset," Stephanie said. "I didn't know what to tell her, but I wouldn't put it past Hunter to hate her just because he found out she wasn't his daughter. That's just the kind of bastard move he would do."

"She'll get through it, she takes after you," Chris said.

"Well, you have lots of resolve too. I guess she takes after both of us. She's just so scared of everything changing, and it is changing, which is why I think that getting away will be good for us, all of us," she said, folding her arms in front of her. "Where do you think we should go? Somewhere quiet or somewhere that the girls will like?"

"Actually," Chris said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was kind of hoping that we could go up to Winnipeg and see my parents…I know what you're thinking, that's not really a vacation in the sense of going someplace, but…well, I've told my parents all about you and all about the girls, and they've been wanting to properly meet you…and with Ferris being my daughter…I don't think it's fair to keep them in the dark."

Stephanie looked down, "I know what you mean, but your parents are going to hate me now that Ferris is yours."

"They won't, I know they won't. I just hate keeping them in the dark…keeping everyone in the dark," he trailed off, looking down.

Stephanie stepped up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, "Chris, we're not going to keep this a secret, I promise you that, we aren't. You have to trust me, okay? I would never hurt you like that. You are that little girl's father, and you are going to be that little girl's father for the rest of her life."

Chris smiled sheepishly. "I just don't know how to be a dad."

"You've been doing a pretty damn good job so far," she told him, and he smiled at her gratefully albeit bashfully. She leaned up to kiss him gently, "you just have to be the wonderful, amazing man that you've been so far. I love you so much and I'm so glad that I re-found you."

"Me too," he chuckled, kissing her as he pushed her against the sink. "I wish that we could…you know."

"Maybe some other time," she told him, kissing his cheek as they actually went about getting ready for bed. They climbed in on either side of Ferris and she instinctively scooted closer to the nearest warm body, which happened to be Chris's. He let her cuddle up to him and she opened her eyes a little bit, her fatigue only letting her eyes open just the tiniest bit.

"Night Mommy," she whispered sleepily.

"Night sweets," Stephanie responded.

"Night Chris," Ferris said next, "love you…"

Those words had never sounded so sweet.


	43. Chapter 43

"Are your Mommy and Daddy nice, Chris?"

Chris spied on Keagan in the backseat as she peeked out the window at her new surroundings, trying to count how many dogs she had seen on the way to Chris's parent's house. "Yeah, they're nice."

"Do you think they'll like me?" she asked sweetly, giving him a big toothy grin.

"Of course they will, I haven't met one person in the entire world that didn't like you," Chris told her and he looked over at Stephanie, who looked at him with a smile. She was nervous, he could tell, so he reached out and grabbed her hand briefly, giving it a supportive squeeze. "Besides, I've told them everything about you, it'll be like they know you."

"You told them everything?" Keagan asked incredulously. "Even what I had for breakfast?"

"Well, no, not that much," Chris told her as he expertly navigated the streets. "I think they'll like you too, Fer."

"Good," she said, tearing her eyes away from the window. "Is this where you grew up, Chris?"

"Yup, right here. Until I decided that I wanted to be a wrestler, then I left home, but this is where I grew up and went to school and everything."

"Did you like it?" she asked, honestly trying to get to know more about Chris. She wasn't ready to call him Daddy yet or anything, but she wanted to get to know more about him. She loved Chris, and she told him often, but she was still trying to get used to him being her father. It wasn't something that she had fully wrapped her mind around as of yet, but she was trying. She didn't want to disappoint her mother or Chris, knowing that they loved her a lot, and she wanted to return that.

"Yeah, Canada is cool, you'll like it here, and I think you'll like my parents too. My dad was a hockey player, you know, he could always teach you guys how to skate because you don't know how, do you?"

"Nope," Keagan announced. "I want to though."

"Good, we'll all have fun," Chris said, as he turned onto his parent's street. "We're almost there."

A few seconds later and he was pulling into their driveway. Keagan was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation of getting to meet new people, such was her personality. Ferris was a little bit more reserved. She was saddled with the knowledge that this was her grandma and grandpa and she was worried that they wouldn't like her. She was also worried that she wouldn't like them. She liked her father's…well, her former father's parents, but now this was a completely different experience.

They got out of the car and Stephanie took Ferris's hand, knowing that she would need it. Stephanie looked at the other side of the car, where Keagan was holding her arms up for Chris to carry her. He lifted her easily into his arms as they bounded up the walkway. Ferris and Stephanie were more subdued, both of them nervous for the impending meeting. Stephanie was scared that they would hate her, just like Ferris was. They walked slowly together, Ferris just a few steps ahead of Stephanie. Before they got up there, though, Stephanie stopped her daughter and knelt in front of her.

"How you doing, Fer?"

"I'm okay, Mommy," she said politely, but she was biting her lip.

"You know, it's okay to be nervous, I'm nervous too," she admitted.

"You are?" she asked, a part of her relieved that she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

"Yeah, because I'm Chris's girlfriend and I want his parents to like me, because what if I stay with him for a long, long time and they don't like me, that would make me sad. But we have to trust that Chris is right."

"Are we going to tell them that Chris is my daddy?" she asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Yeah, we are," Stephanie said, also not mincing words. "But not just yet, we're going to wait a little bit. Do you think that you're ready to meet them now?"

"Yeah, I think I'm ready."

--

Stephanie leaned her head on Chris's shoulder as they walked around his parent's neighborhood. The girls were back at Chris's house with his parents, who were treating them like princesses. She had needed a little air though and Chris had suggested a walk around the neighborhood, which she had readily agreed to. She felt him taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together.

"Thanks for taking us away," she told him.

"You sound like I kidnapped you or something," he joked.

"No, I just…I needed to be away from the situation with Hunter. I'm so nervous that he's going to try something underhanded with Keagan, and I don't want him to take away my little girl. I mean, I'm not saying that he has connections to the mob or anything, but he usually gets what he wants."

"He's not going to get her though," Chris assured her. "Who in their right mind would give him to her?"

"I don't know, a corrupt judge or someone who believes that I'm a bad mother. The evidence _is_ stacked against me, you know."

"Just like the evidence is stacked against him," Chris countered. "I mean, take a look at that, Steph. He hasn't even been in his daughter's lives until he saw that you were moving on, then he decides to actually be a father to them. What's that about? He's so jealous he can't even stand it. That's all this is, jealousy."

"Yeah, you're right, but I just fear that I'd lose her."

"You won't, I wouldn't let that happen. You trust me, right?"

"Of course."

"Then you have to trust me with this one, that's it."

"I know, and I do. I just wish this transition was going to be easier…for all of us, but especially for Ferris. She was so nervous to meet your parents, Chris. She wants them to like her, and she's going to try so hard. She gets that from me, that gritty determination."

"They'll like her, she's their granddaughter, and they'll like Keagan too because everyone likes that little girl," he chuckled.

"There's so many people to tell," she said, shaking her head, "so many people who are going to judge."

"You made an honest mistake, and for those that don't see that, well…fuck them," he told her. "If they think that you're a shitty person for it, then cut them out of your life because they had no right to be there in the first place."

"Why are you so rational? Stop being rational, have fears, man!" she told him, nudging his leg with her hip.

"I have fears, don't worry," he assured her. "I just choose to be the one who is the rock in all of this, but trust me, I have fears."

"Like what?" she asked, leaning her chin on his shoulder to look at him. Do you think that you could tell me what those fears are, because I'd love to know that I'm not alone in this crazy thing we call life."

Chris looked down, and he thought for a moment, and really, what did he have to lose? Stephanie was the woman he loved and the mother of his child, she should know everything about him. It was weird for him too, this adjusting to living their lives and not just _his_ life anymore. Stephanie may have thought that it was a big adjustment for her and the girls, but it was just as big a one for Chris too, who had gone from bachelor to family man…or hopeful family man.

He took a deep breath and stopped, right there on the sidewalk, "I'm scared that Ferris is never going to see me as her dad."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean, why should she, really? She's not a baby, Steph, she's a kid, a smart one, with smart thoughts and smart feelings and she's had this guy for so long be her dad, and then there I am, trying to be a father, probably failing at it, and why should she need me? I just don't…I fear that she's never going to want me as her dad, that she's never going to think of me as her father."

"That's a very valid point," Stephanie said. "I wish that I could tell you for certain that it would never end up that way, but I can't make those reassurances for you. I just can't because that's Ferris's decision to make."

"I know, and don't worry about it," he told her, and she hated him for that. She hated that he was so strong and he took everything in stride when he should be ranting and raving.

"Chris?"

"Hmm?" he said as they began walking again.

"I_ can_ tell you that I don't know why she wouldn't want you as her father," she said, and he turned to give her a small smile and a peck on the lips.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," she told him. "I believe that though. She loves you, Chris, and eventually, she'll think of you as her father, I know she will. We just kind of have to be patient and let it sink in for her on her own time."

"I guess I just want to be known as Dad," he said, looking down and embarrassed. Stephanie thought it was sweet though and she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, which were starting to burn a little.

"That's sweet, Chris, she's very lucky to have you," she whispered as they continued to walk.

The rest of their walk was pretty quiet, Chris just pointing out small landmarks from his childhood, like where he had jumped the curb with his bike or the tree root that he had tripped over as a kid which caused him to get stitches. As they kept walking, Stephanie taking in his life before wrestling, she started to forget about Hunter and everything that was going on in her real world.

It was easier that way, and that's what Chris had wanted for her. They all needed to just get away from their lives for a while, to not have to face a tomorrow where there were a million questions and not enough answers. They all had big things they were dealing with, with the exception of Keagan, and time away from it would hopefully give them perspective, and a way of dealing with things because right now, they were going in all directions instead of one, concentrated direction.

Ferris was trying to deal with Chris being her father, and that was probably the hardest transition of all. She had to get used to this new figure in her life, this new direction her life was taking. There would be new feelings, new decisions, new rewards, new punishments; she didn't know what to expect from Chris. Then she'd have to just get used to knowing Chris as her father.

Stephanie was worried about Hunter taking Keagan away and she and Chris were both worried about how the news would come out, because things like this never stayed quiet. Not that it could, with Ferris probably changing her name and everything. So many things to think about, and still make sure that Ferris was coping. It made her wish that Hunter had cheated on her sooner, when Ferris was a baby, or something, it was all so confusing. Her entire life was a mass of confusion.

"So when do we tell your parents?" she asked as they had rounded the block and were back on his parent's street.

"Um…never?" he laughed, "I don't know, when the right moment springs itself up. I'm still trying to figure out how you would even broach that to your parents. Like, 'Hey Mom and Dad, you know how I don't have any kids? Well, surprise, I was wrong and I have a daughter, and she's right here, congratulations.' That doesn't seem the nicest way to do it."

She actually laughed and she knew he was mostly trying to ease her embarrassment over the situation. "So, right moment, huh?"

"Yeah, the right moment," he agreed. "We can't rush it. Let's not rush it, people are going to find out but we have to tell the people we love in the right way."

"You're so right," she said as they got to his house.

"I always am," he told her as they wiped their feet before walking inside. Chris called out, "Mom, Dad, you here?"

His mother showed up in the doorway, her hands on her hips. She looked between Chris and Stephanie, then back and forth for a few seconds, "Hello, Loretta, thank you for watching the girls."

"Why didn't you tell us, Chris?"


	44. Chapter 44

Chris could've sworn that his heart stopped beating in that moment. He gulped, and his heartbeat was ringing in his ears. Stephanie grabbed his hand tightly, and gave it a squeeze. He turned to her, and she gave him a half-smile, all that she could muster at the moment. He looked down and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he said regretfully.

"You should've told me," she told him, shaking his head. "Immediately, like when you walked in the door."

"I know that I should've, but I was trying to find the right way to break it to you. It's not that easy to tell you these kinds of things. I mean, how do you tell someone this kind of news?" he said, giving her a pathetic look. In that moment, she was reminded of the little boy that he had been, the little boy who would follow her around and cling to her whenever he was scared.

"Yes, I understand," she said, then her eyes seemed to tear up a little bit, "you have a little girl."

Chris gave her a small smile, trying to keep the pride out of his face. He couldn't help himself though, she was…his daughter, and it felt so good. He nodded, and his mother just did the same because she wasn't fully over the news, and she hadn't quite processed it yet. In fact, she hadn't processed it at all, and it was still rattling in her brain like a ping-pong ball, trying to find an adequate place to settle.

"I'm assuming though, that this is a new development, and you just haven't kept a daughter from me and your father for the past eight years or so," his mother said.

"No, it was recent…to both of us," Chris said, glancing at Stephanie, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable standing there. "Neither one of us knew…how did you find out?"

"Well, I was speaking with Keagan, and we were talking about her father, and she mentioned that you were Ferris's father, that she heard you say that to her daddy, and well…I thought at first that she was joking around, but she seemed pretty serious…this is pretty serious, right?"

"Mom, we just…we wanted to find the right time to tell you."

"I'm not quite sure how to react right now, I'm afraid, and I haven't even told your father. He wanted to take Ferris for a walk, which he's still on right now. I think he likes her, she's very smart."

"She is, she just recently was asked to skip a grade," Stephanie spoke up, but in such a quiet voice, Chris almost didn't recognize it.

Loretta smiled at that, "I do want to know her though."

"We want you too," Stephanie said again. "I'm so very sorry for all of this, Loretta. It's all my fault that this happened, I was careless, and I didn't realize and…"

"It's not her fault, Mom, it's _nobody's_ fault," Chris emphasized, wrapping his arm around her. "Get that through your skull, Stephanie, it's not your fault, you didn't know, you couldn't have known."

"I'm not angry with you, either one of you," Loretta chimed in, walking closer. "Now isn't a time for anger or harsh words. She's a child, she's not some horrible disease or anything, she's a little girl, and from the short time I've gotten to spend with her, she seems like a wonderful, bright, little girl, and your other one, Stephanie, that Keagan, she's a little spitfire, isn't she?"

"She does like to talk," Stephanie said, trying her best to smile.

"I can tell," she nodded. "She's watching television right now, she said she was tired, probably from the plane ride I'm sure, I wouldn't be surprised if she was asleep on the couch."

"Well, we haven't seen her since we've been home, I'm sure that she's asleep or engrossed in the television."

"I'm going to go check on her," Stephanie said, getting out of that room quickly. She felt like she could breathe when she was out of the room with Chris's mother. That's not how she wanted the truth to come out, although, coming from Keagan, it probably lessened the blow a lot. Keagan had a way of putting you at ease, and anything that came out of her mouth sounded so innocent. Hopefully once she had to talk to Chris's mother alone, which she knew at some point the situation would arise, that her anger wouldn't be let out full steam.

She deserved it though. She had not realized the truth for so long and she hadn't just made Chris miss out on Ferris's life, but his family as well. They deserved the chance to know and love Ferris as well, and she had stripped them of that. Pat and Paul, Hunter's parents, they had only known and loved Ferris as their granddaughter, and now she was going to have to tell them (if Hunter hadn't already, which he probably had) that they weren't Ferris's grandparents. How many lives had to be ruined because she hadn't done the math correctly?

Sometimes, she thought back to that night, wondered if she would have all of this if she hadn't slept with Chris that night. Would everything have worked out the way that it did if she had just kept away from him, not run into him at all, hadn't taken that first drink? Predictably, that train of thought always led back to the fact that if she hadn't slept with Chris that night, if something, one minor, miniscule detail had been different, she wouldn't have had Ferris, and anything coming at her wouldn't be awful if Ferris was in her life.

That little girl had been a source of light in Stephanie's life for so long; she'd never trade her back for anything. With that smile, and her thoughtfulness, and her shyness, and everything that made her uniquely _Ferris_, she'd never trade her back. She would go through ten hundred years with this ache over the situation if it meant she would have Ferris at the end. And Chris was going to make a great father to her, and he was already a great companion to her, so really, in the end, with her, with Ferris and Keagan, and with Chris, what more could she ask for?

Perfection is not often attained, but can be seen in the dimmest of lights.

Chris, meanwhile, had been led into the kitchen by his mother, who insisted he sit down as she got him a glass of juice. He took it from her with a boyish smile, and she ruffled his hair a little as she sat down next to him, watching him drink his juice as if he were five and needed to be reminded not to leave a drop in the glass. He took a sip and then set it down on the table.

"Mom, you're making me nervous," he joked lamely.

"I'm sorry, it's just not every day that you find out your son is a father," she said. "I never questioned the way that you chose to live your life. With your successes and everything, I never felt like you were missing anything…"

"I know, you never pressured me to get married or have children, or anything."

"I was just happy that you were _you_," she said. "That's all I ever wanted for you, to just be yourself, and everything else would fall into place. And well, I never expected it to fall this fast," she laughed softly, "but I want to make sure, I want to know that you are happy, and you are happy, right?"

"I was shocked at first, angry that she didn't realize it," he said, thinking about Stephanie and the devastation etched across her face so plain for him to see. "But once I got used to the idea and once I realized that nobody was to blame, I'm happy, Mom."

"Good," she said, "and you're happy with where everything is at with you two?"

"I love her, Mom," Chris said with a great, big grin on his face that delighted his mother. "I love them all, all three of them, I love Steph, I love Ferris, and even if she's not my daughter by blood, I love Keagan too."

"It's about time though, I must say," she joked. "I figured that you'd be happy with the career, but the career and the family, I'm doubly happy for you…but how is…well, how is your agent going to handle all of this? I don't want to see your name drug through the mud."

"We're proceeding with caution," he said, "My manager has got it covered, and we're going to be upfront about it, but not at the expense of our privacy, especially Ferris's. She's still adjusting to the idea, and I don't want the paparazzi trying to stalk her or anything."

"Good, good, because that's my granddaughter," Loretta threatened playfully. "I'm happy though, to know the truth and to have the opportunity to get to know my granddaughter, and Keagan and Stephanie as well."

"Stephanie would really like to hear that, Mom, she really would."

"I think I should go speak to her," his mother said, getting up from her seat and leaving her son to his juice. She walked to the living room, where Keagan had been, and saw Stephanie sitting next to the sleeping Keagan, soothingly running her hand over the little girl's hair as she slept. Loretta cleared her throat quietly and Stephanie's eyes darted up to her. "Hello."

"Hi," Stephanie whispered.

Loretta took a seat in an armchair nearby, "You know, Chris used to think that there was a monster under his bed that liked hockey, so every night, he'd write down all the hockey scores and he'd slip it under the bed, and he'd try to stay up to see the monster take it, just to make sure, eventually though, I'd have to go in there, and sit with him until he fell asleep."

"Sounds like something he'd do," Stephanie said, smiling as she thought of Chris as a little boy.

"It seems like you've taken very good care of my granddaughter," Loretta said.

"Oh, well, thank you," Stephanie said, struggling to find the appropriate words for the situation. "Loretta, once again, I'd like to apologize for my error. I should've known, or I should've figured…"

"Why don't you give me the abridged version of what happened," she coaxed gently.

"Well, the short story goes…my husband wanted a separation from me because he met some woman and wanted to sleep with her. I didn't want it, but he insisted until I gave in, so we separated. I was so depressed, I went out drinking and ended up spending the night with Chris. I woke up the next morning, got dressed, left, and never thought about it, Chris didn't remember at all because we were so drunk. My husband, after cheating on me but not really cheating on me since he used a loophole, came back to me, and I took him back. I found out I was pregnant a few weeks later, and never thought…I never realized because I never really added up the dates, it was such a close proximity, I figured that it was Hunter's and nobody else's…I didn't, I just…"

"Okay, it's okay," she said, seeing that this was hard for her to talk about, "but what made you start to think she was Chris's?"

"I remembered," she said. "I remembered and then I started to see Chris in Ferris. She never looked like Hunter, she always looked like me, so I didn't really notice, but after I realized I had spent the night with Chris, I started to see him in my daughter."

"She does have some of his features," Loretta said. "I'm not mad at you, Stephanie, you made an honest mistake. It happens to all of us, regardless of magnitude."

"So this is where Chris gets it," she said, more to herself than to his mother.

"Gets what?"

She cleared her throat a little because of the lump starting to form, "Just the amazing ability to forgive things you shouldn't have to forgive. He forgave me for not knowing and he didn't even bat an eyelash when he sorted it out and we found out the truth. He took it in stride, and didn't even…when we found out, he wanted to make sure that _I_ was okay."

"Well, that's always been Chris's downfall, he wants everyone to love him," she said jokingly. "But why should anyone be mad at you? We all make mistakes, Stephanie, its how we choose to rectify those mistakes that truly defines character. When you found out, I'm assuming that you didn't keep it to yourself for a long time."

"No, about a week, then I told him," Stephanie said.

"See, you knew that you wanted to correct it, and you did, and Chris has a daughter, and I have a granddaughter, and we get to know her as she is now, and that's fine, as long as we know her."

Stephanie was just constantly amazed at this family. They were so…alike, it kind of scared her. She had never seen more of Chris in Ferris than she did at this moment. Ferris was the exact same way. She would take things and she'd adapt and approach is so rationally. Even finding out Chris was her father had been approached in this manner. Ferris was scared and worried, but she didn't lash out, she didn't yell or anything, she just went with it, instantly forgiving and thinking of others like she always was.

"I'm still sorry."

"Well you can stuff those in a sack," she said, "So she skipped a grade?"

"Yeah, she's so smart, and she loves to read, and she's just the most wonderful person, I love her so much, I'm so thankful that you've welcomed us all into your home. You didn't have to, but you did, and thank you."

"You make my son happy, what more could I really want?" Loretta asked. "I've seen him with a lot of girls, and he's happy with you."

"I'm happy with him."

Loretta smiled knowingly, she could tell that they did love each other, and it somehow made the news that much easier to handle, "So do they have any favorite foods, I'd love to make it for them while you are all here."

"Oh, well, they like anything really," Stephanie said, still amazed that she was so nice to her when she should be ranting and raving about how much time she had lost with her granddaughter.

Speaking of granddaughters, "Mommy!"

"In here, Fer!" Stephanie called out, causing Keagan to stir a little, but remain asleep.

Ferris bounded into the living room happily, Ted on her heels, "Mommy, Ted took me to this duck pond, and we got to feed the ducks, and it was so fun, Mommy, he taught me about the different kinds of ducks, and it was really cool."

"Wow, sounds like fun," Stephanie said. Ferris sat next to her and looked up at her.

"Ted is really smart, and he played hockey like Chris does sometimes, and he said that he was really good at it, and he could take me to a game while we're here, isn't that fun, Mommy?"

"It sounds it," Stephanie said, enjoying Ferris's enthusiasm. Loretta stared at the child, seeing more and more of Chris in her as the moments passed. Chris came into the room to see what all the hub-bub was about and Ferris raced to him, hugging him around the waist as she looked up at him.

"Did you know that ducks can live to be over twenty years old, Chris?"

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, I got to feed some with your daddy," Ferris explained. "It was fun, and we're going to go to a hockey game."

"Can I come?"

"Uh huh," she nodded as she went back over to Stephanie. "You can come too, Mommy."

"Well thanks for the invitation," she laughed, "I'm glad that I'll get to go."

Chris caught his mom openly staring at Ferris, who didn't seem to notice as she talked more about what she had learned today. Leave it to her to be the most talkative when she was speaking of something that she had learned that she didn't previously know. His mother's smile seemed to grow the longer that Ferris spoke. His father came to stand next to him.

"What is with your mother?" he asked in a stage whisper.

"Well, Dad…there's some things that you're going to need to know."

"Like what?"

"Well, I think we should tell you later. What do you think of Ferris? You were on a walk with her, so what did you think?"

"She's very bright, and sharp too, I'm very impressed by her."

"Come on, Fer, let's go wash your hands, okay, just to make sure we get all the germs off," Stephanie said as she led Ferris to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as Ferris stepped up to the sink, reaching up to turn on the faucet.

"I like them, Mommy," Ferris confessed, "They're really nice, like Chris."

"I know, they are, aren't they?"

"I think I like them being my grandma and grandpa," she admitted bashfully, and a little guiltily. "Is that bad, Mommy?"

"Why would that be bad?"

"Wouldn't that make...Grandma Pat and Grandpa Paul sad?" she asked fretfully, honestly upset about that notion.

"It might, I'm not going to lie to you, it might, but I think that they love you, and I think that they can all love you, because you can never have too much love in your life, Fer, never, and you know, I think that Chris's parents, I think they love you and Keagan already because you're so great, and they're not Keagan's grandparents, so you know, they're allowed, just like Grandma Pat and Grandpa Paul are allowed to love you."

"Good," Ferris said with a smile, "I like Ted…do you think…do you think that I could call him Grandpa Ted?"

"I think he'd really like that, but he doesn't know that he's your grandpa just yet, so if you can wait until tomorrow, I think that he'd be fine with that."

"Mommy, do you think that it would make Chris upset if I called his mommy and daddy Grandma and Grandpa, but then I didn't call him Daddy? Because if that would make him made, I won't do it."

"It wouldn't."

"And if I did want to call him Daddy?"

"I think that would make him pretty happy," Stephanie said conspiratorially.

"Okay," she nodded, thinking it over. "Maybe…"

"I think that sounds great, but come on, you haven't told me everything that you've learned about ducks."

She giggled and started to talk again as they walked out of the bathroom together, Ferris chattering away. They walked back into the living room, and Loretta was staring at Ferris again. She just couldn't take her eyes off of her, and how much she reminded her of Chris when he was that age. Chris was just a little bit of a bookworm when he was younger, always striving to learn something new and he saw that in Ferris too, and she just couldn't wait to spend some time really getting to know her. Ferris sat next to Chris and leaned in to him as they listened to Ted speak about a game that was going on.

They made a sweet picture together, and Loretta wanted to commit to memory and never forget it. She had come to terms with the fact that Chris might never give her grandchildren, and she was okay with that fact up until Ferris looked up at Chris in adoration. Then she knew she was gone and this dull kind of ache that she had never noticed before was rapidly sinking away. Not only that, but Stephanie had another daughter too, and she already loved her as well. Her son was on the right track, and she was so incredibly happy for him, like she never had before.

She watched as Ferris leaned up on her knees and wrapped her hands together over Chris's ear to say something private to him, and she wondered what the little girl was saying to her father.

"Chris," Ferris whispered, "do you think that maybe, I can…sometimes…call you…Daddy…just sometimes…"

Chris had to blink a little bit, but the smile didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room, except for Keagan, who decided this was nap time and she wasn't waking up for anything. Chris turned to her and he nodded eagerly and she nodded back, then went back to sitting and leaning against him.

A dull ache inside of him was fading too.


	45. Chapter 45

"Oh, it's so good to be home."

Chris swept up Stephanie in his arms and kissed her neck. "So you didn't like my parent's house then?"

She laughed, "I liked it there, your parents are great, but this is home, _home_, even you have to feel good about being home."

"Okay, yes, I do, and even better that we completely turned off our cell phones and actually lived like normal human beings," Chris said happily. "I think we needed that trip away from reality, don't you?"

"Oh, absolutely," she nodded, "but now comes the hard part, actually getting back to our normal lives, that's the part that's no fun."

"Well, yeah, you're right, but we can handle whatever's thrown at us," Chris told her, kissing her neck again. "Besides, with us back home, and our big, empty bedroom…far, far away from my parents…"

"You're suggesting we nap?" she asked playfully.

"Mommy, I think someone moved my things while we were away," Keagan said, running from the playroom.

"They did?"

"Uh huh, I think it was a ghost, Mommy, I think that a ghost did it and that's scary," Keagan told her unhappily.

"Are you sure that you didn't move it and forget about it while we were in Winnipeg?" Stephanie asked kindly.

Keagan screwed up her face in thought, tapping her chin animatedly, "Yeah, that could be it, Mommy, I forgot that I might have done that. But there could still be a ghost, Mommy, like in the scary movies."

"Where have you been watching scary movies?" Stephanie asked.

"I haven't, but I _know_," Keagan said forcefully. "You don't have to watch them to know about them, Mommy."

"That's true, but I had the ghost busters in here before we moved in, and we are definitely ghost-free, so you can rest easy, okay?"

"Great!" she exclaimed, "I'm going to go play now, all my dollies missed me, and I have to play with _all_ of them before I go to bed because if I don't, then they'll feel angry with me, and I don't want that to happen."

"Yeah, it would be very sad," Stephanie said, but Keagan was already racing towards the playroom. She turned to Chris, "I don't know where she learns half the stuff that she knows, I think she's just one big, ball of useless information."

"At least she gives a cute presentation," he said. "I'm going to go up to my office and check on my messages, I'm sure that Brad has been calling me nonstop and he's probably now pissed at me for not calling him back."

"You earn him the big bucks, I'm sure that he's not going to be too torn up about it," she said, giving him a quick kiss. "I guess I should do the same with my messages."

"See you in…twenty to thirty minutes?"

"It's a date," she laughed as she watched him walk upstairs. She went to the kitchen and set her purse down on the table, rooting around for her cell phone. It had been weird not to use it for so long, but almost…liberating in a way, like she wasn't tethered to this phone and it wasn't a part of her body. She went to turn it on, only to find that the battery was dead. She must've accidentally left it on or something.

She stuck it in the charger before going to her own office. She sat down in her comfortable chair for a moment before leaning forward and pressing the button to her answering machine, which was blinking like a little, angry red light. She sat back again to listen to her messages and seem if there was anything pertinent. She had taken a short leave from work, so her parents knew not to come for her for anything, and she had passed that down to her employees, so she figured that there wouldn't be too many.

"Hello, Stephanie, this is Samantha Gould from the WWE legal department, and your personal representation, I need you to give me a call back as soon as you get this message, it's extremely important that you get back to me."

That was all Stephanie needed to hear before she turned off the rest of the messages and picked up the phone, immediately dialing Titan Towers. She asked for Samantha's office, and waited for her to pick up. It was only two in the afternoon, so she should be there at least for another couple of hours, hopefully, she didn't know what the legal team did on a daily basis since it wasn't her department or her expertise, like the accounting department, of which she had intimate knowledge.

"Samantha Gould speaking."

"Samantha, this is Stephanie, you left a message on my machine. I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner, but I've been away and only today came back."

"Oh, Stephanie, thanks for calling," she said, "I'm sorry to sound so professional over the phone, but we've never really spoken."

"It's fine, so what is this about?"

"Well, we received a call from Mr. Hunter Helmsley's lawyer, he knew to come to us since you have us under retainer of course, but his lawyer sent me up documents contesting custody of your daughter, hold on," she paused, looking over a document that she had just pulled up, "Keagan Leah Helmsley."

"What?" Stephanie said, so stunned that she almost dropped her phone.

"He's citing that you're an unfit mother, and that you are currently living with a bad influence on his daughter, and he's suing for full custody of Keagan."

"No," Stephanie whispered. "He can't do this!"

"He's got everything written up," Samantha said. "I'm guessing that you didn't see this coming."

"I should've," she said quietly. "Everything he said, it's untrue. I'm not an unfit mother, and the bad influence is the only consistent father figure she's had since Hunter left me for another woman."

"Wait, _he_ left _you_?"

"Yes, you probably didn't handle my divorce."

"I didn't," Samantha interjected.

"Well, I caught him cheating on me, and I left him, and he left me for the woman that he was cheating with. They're still together."

"Oh, well, now that's different," Samantha said. "Those are solid reasons for the request of dissolution of marriage. But he does have the right to take this to court, if it should get to court and not be settled beforehand."

"He wants revenge," Stephanie said, still shell-shocked that this was happening. She knew, had always known, that Hunter was low, but to take away her baby, to rip Keagan away from her mother, and from her sister as well, that was the lowest of the lows. Hunter _knew_ that Keagan needed her, and he was just doing this out of spite.

"Revenge for what?"

"I thought we had two children together, but during a separation in our marriage, where we were both seeing other people, I got pregnant and only recently found out that he wasn't the real father of my oldest child."

"Oh, well, I've never heard that one before, but if you had actual cause not to believe, and as you say, you weren't together, and were both with other people, that won't raise too many red flags in the proceedings."

"Good…but honestly, Samantha, does he have a case?"

"Well, parents pretty much always have a case in the stake of their child, so in that respect, he does, but from what I've read, and what you're telling me, I'm not sure that his is particularly strong. It doesn't look strong enough to actually go to court, which is in our favor."

"He can't take her away," Stephanie pleaded, "that little girl, she's my daughter, I can't be away from her, she can't be away from me, I'm the only person who's always been there for her. Hunter left us, and he didn't even come to visit them, and he barely ever called."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "It wasn't until I started seeing my current boyfriend that he even came around, and that was only because he hates the guy that I'm dating."

"The bad influence?"

"Yes, but he's not a bad influence, he's been a father to Keagan, and he _is_ the father of my eldest daughter. He's a musician, so Hunter thinks that he's on drugs and whatever, but he's not, I swear it, he swears it, he'll take a drug test if you want," Stephanie said, getting frantic now.

"Okay, well, we'll have to talk this out, and get our case together, we'll schedule that, don't worry."

"What's going to happen in the meantime?"

"Well, the judge can rule in favor of joint custody until this whole matter gets settled. Also, he'll probably get CPS to come down there and observe your home life, try to get a gauge on how you guys live and how you treat each other."

"CPS?" Stephanie said, closing her eyes. "They're going to send someone here to judge me?"

"It's standard procedure, Stephanie, I'm sorry, I know it sounds scary, but it's not, they interview you, they interview your boyfriend and your kids, and they just watch, they don't interact or anything, they're just there to watch."

"I…can't," she said, her voice cracking, "He can't take her away from me."

"Well, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen, okay, you have to trust me, if we need it, we'll get the entire legal team on this. I have a son, and if someone was threatening to take him away, for sure I'd fight it, so we'll fight this. If this is out of spite, it'll come out."

"Thanks," Stephanie said. "I guess we can meet tomorrow?"

"That sounds great, just give me a buzz before you come up to see me."

"Of course, thank you, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Stephanie hung up the phone and then slumped down, her arms on top of the desk as she buried her face into them. She cried then, thinking about how everything was screwed up now. She hated even spending a day away from Keagan, and now Hunter wanted to take her away permanently, calling her an unfit mother. That was the biggest load of bullshit that she had ever heard. Hunter was the unfit parent, only deeming it necessary to see his daughters when it was convenient for him, and the only time it had been convenient for him was when she was finally moving on with her life.

She sobbed at the thought of losing Keagan. She couldn't lose her little girl, not now, not ever. She needed Keagan _and_ Ferris everyday. She was their mother, and she had been their mother every single day since the days that they were born. She had to fight this. She just couldn't believe the depths of Hunter's anger; that he would actually do this to her, that he would hurt her so deliberately. She had been married to this man, she had loved him whole-heartedly and bore his daughter, while he had been off cheating on her, with who knew how many women, until she had caught him and left him.

If she had never caught him, they might still be married, he might still be cheating on her, and she'd be so clueless. She had loved Hunter, but she never thought him capable of this. She was crying big, snotty tears now, not even caring how it looked, not even caring if Ferris or Keagan walked in here. The pain was too deep. She couldn't believe that she had ever loved him now. She had honestly not known about Ferris and Chris, she hadn't known at all, and yet, he was punishing her. What if he had kids out there that he didn't know about, should she get revenge for that in some way? No, because she didn't care. She had never closed the door to Hunter regarding his daughter, and now he was trying to slam the door in her face.

"Hey Steph, you didn't…Steph?" Chris said, coming to the doorway. He saw her in tears, sobs wracking her frame, and he rushed over to her, grabbing her and holding her close to him, "Steph, baby, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

"Hunter," she managed to whisper.

"What? What about that asshole?" Chris asked angrily. If he had called Stephanie and made her upset, he wasn't going to sit idly by. He was going to go give that ass a piece of his mind, and a large piece of his fist. He was sick and tired of the way he treated Stephanie.

She sniffled and looked up at him, "He's suing me for custody of Keagan…full custody. He claims that I'm an unfit mother and that…you're a bad influence on her."

"What!" Chris exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace. "He did…what!"

"He's trying to take her away!" Stephanie sobbed.

"How dare he!" Chris said, punching the wall, his fist aching as it didn't give, but he was too charged to even care how much it hurt. He would do it again if it were Hunter's face. "We're going to fight this, Stephanie, believe me, we're going to fight this tooth and nail. There's no way that he can take her away."

"But what if he does, what if they say I'm not fit."

"Bullshit!" he exclaimed. "That's bullshit and you know it. You are the best mother to those girls, and we both know it. He has no legs to stand on. That son of a bitch! I can't believe he'd stoop this low."

"Me neither, I just…I never saw it when we were married. I mean, I knew he'd get angry, but he's actually going to take her away…"

"No," Chris said firmly, going over and taking her in his arms again, smoothing her hair down. "No."

"No?"

"He's not taking Keagan, not over my dead body."


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to be better about it. Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Leave a review:)

* * *

She had been crying for the past hour. It seemed, though, that she had been crying for hours upon hours. The tears just kept flowing from her eyes, tiny rivers. Falling, falling, falling until they hit the dark blue pillow underneath her head, staining the dark fabric, showing plainly where her tears had fallen. She felt helpless in that moment, so very helpless and vulnerable. Everything around her just seemed dull and faded, but that might be because the lights were off and she was actually surrounded by darkness.

Chris was lying beside her, feeling helpless in a different way. He didn't know if Stephanie was even aware that he was in the room at the moment. He didn't know if she was even aware what world she was in right now. He just didn't know what he could possibly do for her right now. She had been like a zombie earlier, going through the motions, pretending to be a person, especially in front of Keagan and Ferris. But she seemed to have all the life sucked out of her and though he tried to hug her every other minute jus to remind her that he was there for her, he wasn't even sure if she could feel at this point.

He moved his arm to go behind his head, lying there and listening to his girlfriend cry. It broke his heart into shreds to hear her like this. The worst part was he didn't know how he could help this situation. It wasn't like he could just throw out this custody suit by himself. He wasn't a judge or a lawyer, he didn't know the jargon. He didn't know how to actually help Stephanie with this situation. He felt completely useless to her. Actually, he felt kind of guilty too, now that he thought about it.

If he had never slept with Stephanie in the first place, if he had never gotten her pregnant…no, he didn't want to think about that. He had gotten her pregnant, and they had Ferris, and that was just how things were. He just wished he had known sooner, maybe if the truth had come out sooner it would've made a difference. But then there might not be a Keagan, and Chris did love that little girl, and so did Stephanie. So really, there was no real solution to this problem they were having. They just had to ride it out and see what was going to happen, and hope for the best.

He turned on his side and scooted himself so that he was behind Stephanie. He reached his arm around her waist and pulled himself closer, kissing her upper arm, and then moving slowly up to her shoulder, and then across to her neck, ending with a kiss just behind her ear. It wasn't meant as a gesture to arouse her, but rather as a gesture to show that she wasn't alone. He was still there and he wasn't going anywhere. She was stuck with him now and for the foreseeable future.

"I didn't realize you were awake," Stephanie said quickly, making her first attempt at wiping her eyes.

"I didn't think you even knew I was in the room."

"Oh geez, I'm sorry," she said, her voice hoarse and stuffy from her tears. "I must've been keeping you up."

"You weren't," he informed her. "I was up anyways, who do you think undressed you and got you into bed?"

"Oh, I was wondering how I got here," she said absently, looking down at the pajamas that she was wearing and honestly not remembering getting into them. How out of it had she been? "Are the girls in bed?"

"Yeah, they're all tucked in and everything. I took care of it, I just said that you had a headache and needed to rest," he explained. "They did tell me to give you extra kisses before you went to bed."

She smiled through her haze, "That's nice of them." She felt Chris's arms tighten around her and then he nestled his body behind hers like he was protecting her from some storm coming straight at her. She did feel like there was a storm heading straight for her though. A storm that was being helmed by her ex-husband.

He didn't know what to say to her after that, so he held her for a few minutes before asking the stupid question, "Are you tired?"

"Not really," she said, even though the clock was blinking out that it was past midnight. She didn't feel tired physically, but mentally, she was completely exhausted. She felt like there was this haze around her and she couldn't quite break free from it.

"You should sleep," he said soothingly, wanting her to get some rest. He worried about her well-being, he always had. How could he have let go of all his inhibitions that night? It must've been because it was Stephanie. He didn't have many drunk trysts on his record, not many at all, but it must've been more when he was with Stephanie. Damn the crush that he had had on her for so long, damn that to hell.

"I'm not tired," she protested.

"Steph, baby, it's okay to sleep, you know," he said, and he knew it didn't make a lot of sense, but he said it anyways. He reached up and found her hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'm right here."

"I know," she said, taking a small amount of comfort from his words. "I know…"

"So let's just go to sleep together," he suggested.

"I'm scared."

"What of?" he asked, though he knew the answer. He just thought it would be better if she vocalized why she was scared so they could get it out in the open and he would feel okay talking about it.

"Losing her," Stephanie said. "I can't lose her, Chris, she's my baby."

"I know she is," he told her, telling her the things she wanted and needed to hear. He was just here to be her sounding board right now. If she needed to vent all her anger, than he was going to be the one that she vented all her anger to and he would take that anger in and carry it for her. Anything to ease the burden laid on by her ex-husband he would do for her.

"Why is he doing this?" she asked helplessly, tears clogging her voice again as she tried valiantly to keep them at bay.

"I don't know," Chris said. "Because he's a jealous bastard, because he can't accept the truth."

"But why…he knows that this would kill me inside. What kind of man did I marry? I never thought him capable of doing this. Even after the divorce, even after not seeing the girls for months, I still held some kind of hope that he was just taking time to process things, that he wasn't that bad a guy, and now…now he's doing this. He is that bad of a guy."

"He's angry, and when we're angry, we do stupid things. He's being stupid."

"But they could take her, Chris, they could," Stephanie said. "And what then? What am I going to do then?"

"He's not going to take her," Chris said, his voice hard. "They will _not _take her. I promise you that, Stephanie."

"How can you promise me that?" she asked. "There's just no way that you could."

He knew that, but he was going to try his damnedest to make sure that it didn't happen. He cared for Keagan just as much as he did Ferris. He loved that little girl like she was his own, and he wasn't going to let some jealous bastard take her away from her mother. He knew what Hunter was trying to pull here, but he'd be damned if he was going to just sit back and let them take Keagan away from Stephanie. They both deserved better than to be torn apart.

"I may not have any power over it, but I know that he has no case, Steph," Chris said. "The man wouldn't even come to see her until he knew that I was in the picture because he's a stupid, jealous, overgrown lump of a man. He couldn't get off his fat ass to come see his daughters. The court, if it even gets to court, will not look nicely on that. He ignored them, Steph."

"But he can say that I cheated on him."

"You guys were separated at the time, Stephanie, and he cheated on you too, so that's null and void. You caught him with your own eyes."

"Yeah," she said softly, "but then what if they think that every child needs a father in their lives and decide to give her over to him."

"Well, I live with you," Chris said. "I'm a father figure, and I'm Ferris's father, so that's a presence in their lives. And the judge can check my damn record and see that I've done absolutely nothing wrong. My rap sheet is completely clean."

"Yeah, are you sure?" she asked, worried that they would go digging into Chris's past and find something that they could use in court against them.

"I'm positive. When I became really famous, trust me, people tried to dig up stuff on me, anything that they could find, but they couldn't get anything because I didn't have anything to get," he explained to her. "I'm not going to jeopardize the fight for Keagan. Trust me."

"I just don't want him to take her away from me. She's only known what it's like with me, Chris. Hunter left her; he left her and she waited every day for him to come see her and he never did. She was devastated time and time again when Hunter's promises fell through."

"Yes, and the judge will see this, they _will_ see this and know that this man is not the one that should be raising her. You've been the best mother to them, Stephanie, and you need to believe that."

"Yeah, I guess."

"No, not you guess," he said, holding her tighter, "I've seen you, Stephanie. I live with you, and I love you, and I'm with you all the time. I see how you are around those girls, from day one when you first brought Ferris backstage to Raw, to this evening when you pretended like nothing was bothering you so that they wouldn't get suspicious."

"Thank you," she whispered, snuggling deeper into his body. He was like this calming force for her.

"Plus, why would they split up sisters? They wouldn't do that, how could they do that?" Chris asked. "They would have to know what this would do to Ferris."

"That's true," she conceded, feeling better about the whole thing. But that didn't stop her from asking again. "You really don't think that they'll take Keagan away from me? Like seriously think that?"

"I really, seriously think that they will not Keagan from you," he said, his voice steady and comforting. She nodded and yawned, closing her eyes and letting Chris envelope her and make her feel a million times better. Better enough to sleep too, as she started to drift off, only aware of Chris's warm body against hers, her strength when she didn't have much on her own.

Chris waited for her to fall asleep before he even attempted to fall asleep himself. When he felt her go limp in his arms, he rested his head next to hers on the pillow, already thinking up ways that he was going to combat this. The last thought that flitted into his mind before he entered the land of dreams was that if he had to, he was going to get the best lawyer in the world to make sure that Hunter paid.

They slept in the next morning, their minds so exhausted they didn't even register that it was morning. Ferris had been awake for at least half an hour and Keagan had come into her room ten minutes ago and had climbed into bed with her, giggling as she laid down on the pink sheets like this was some slumber she got to be a part of. Ferris was wondering when her mother or her…father would wake them up and let them go watch cartoons downstairs.

"Where is Mommy and Chris?" Keagan asked softly, like she didn't want to disrupt the morning silence. "My tummy is talking."

"It's growling," Ferris told her. "I don't know, I guess they're still asleep. Do you want me to go check?"

"Uh huh," Keagan said.

"Wanna come?"

"No, your bed is warm," she said, snuggling deeper into the covers as she grinned at her sister.

"Fine," Ferris said, getting out of bed and padding her way to her parent's room. She tentatively put her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly, not wanting to disturb anyone, should she be disturbing anyone. She peeked her head in and saw that Chris and Stephanie were still sleeping, and she frowned. It was getting pretty late. She walked inside and over to the nearest side of the bed, poking Chris in the back.

She decided right then and there that if she was ever going to call Chris her father, she should start now. Her voice was very slow and deliberate, almost hesitant when she spoke, "Daddy…"

Chris stirred and mumbled something incoherent.

"Daddy," she repeated, this time more forceful and with a lot more conviction. It felt strange to call him that, but her mother had said that it was going to be strange, that she just had to get used to it. She would probably still call Hunter 'Daddy' just because she didn't really know any better right now. As she got older though, that would probably be easier to stop.

Chris turned over, his eyes closed, but he thought he had heard someone calling him Daddy, but that must've been a dream, "Go to sleep, Steph," he mumbled, thinking that Stephanie was the one poking him.

"Daddy, it's morning," she said, and nope, still weird.

Chris opened his eyes this time and stared into his daughter's eyes and realized that she had actually been calling him Daddy. His heart pounded in his chest at the words and how…well, they didn't sound natural on her lips yet, but man did they sound good to his ears. He smiled at her and then yawned, opening his eyes wider and letting the sun light them up.

"Hey Fer, what's up?"

"Keagan and I are both up," she said. "And you and Mommy weren't."

"Oh, sorry, we were talking last night and stayed up late," he explained to her and she nodded slowly.

"What were you talking about?"

"Just grown-up things," Chris explained to her. "Don't worry your head about it. Your mom is kind of tired, so why don't we go downstairs and I'll make you guys breakfast."

"Okay, Daddy," she said brightly, still getting used to the word. She would just have to keep saying it. She was smart enough to know that with time, saying and meaning the word would be easier, which is why she was taking every opportunity to say it now. She didn't know how much Chris appreciated her saying it though, his smile growing bigger every time.

He took her hand and then went to go collect Keagan, who hopped out of bed and onto Chris's back as they went downstairs. "Thanks for waking me up, Fer," Chris told his daughter, "There's something that I needed to do today and I needed to get up to do it."

"You're welcome," she said.

"What are you doing today?" Keagan asked, "Can I come with you?"

"No, sorry, Keags."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Just going to see some people."

Those people being his lawyer…and one Hunter Hearst Helmsley.


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews for this, I appreciate them all, and I'm glad you're liking this. And if you like this story, you should go check out my new one, "Twilight on a Broken Star." Leave a review and enjoy. :)

* * *

"So do you think that he has a case against her?"

"Well, Chris, every father has rights, which you should know now that you do have a daughter," his lawyer said. "I'll give you this, it's not a very strong case. I can't see any judge giving him full custody."

"He says that I'm a bad influence."

"I know, I can imagine that there will be a court visit to see how you function with Stephanie and Keagan," he said. "That doesn't sound as bad as you think. They just come over and observe. Plus, you have a clean record, no busts of any kind, you donate to charity all the time, do charity benefits, you're good, Chris. I don't think this guy is going to find out anything on you."

"He's going to claim that I cheated with his wife, that we had an affair," Chris pointed out. "Couldn't that be damaging?"

"Well, he did the same thing to her, didn't he? And that caused the dissolution of his marriage, it doesn't exactly float all that well. He could claim fraud on Stephanie for making him believe that Ferris was his for so long, but if it was an honest mistake, it's her word against his, and she's been exemplary."

"You mean, he hasn't?" Chris asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Oh, you didn't know?" his lawyer said, eyebrow raised as he looked at the file in front of him, "Well, he got booked for a DUI last year, so that's definitely a smudge on his record, and he apparently resisted arrest when being pulled over."

"Are you serious?" Chris asked before his lawyer pushed the file over to Chris. "Wow, this…this really does help, right?"

"It does. It doesn't prove that he's completely incompetent and doesn't deserve to be a father to his daughter, but it doesn't help his case in getting full custody of his daughter. Stephanie's record appears clean, so I just can't imagine he would be able to take her away from her."

"That's a relief," Chris said. "I just don't want this guy to take Keagan away from the only person who's always been there for her, and for Stephanie…I just don't even want to know what would happen to her if Keagan was taken away."

"I think we've got a solid case for keeping her with her mother for the majority of the time," he said to Chris, which did relieve him a bit. He didn't want his new, little family to be broken up. Neither Keagan nor Stephanie deserved to be taken away from the other. Keagan loved her mother so much, and Stephanie loved her daughters so much.

"Cool, that's a load off my mind," Chris said. "I hate to cut this short, but I've got to meet with someone in a little bit."

"Who are you meeting with?"

"Um, I was going to go see Hunter."

"Chris, no, I have to advise against that," his lawyer said quickly before Chris could get up and leave. "I don't think you should even see this guy without some kind of legal intervention."

"What the hell is he going to do? I'm just going to talk to him," Chris said, but the edge was clear in his voice. He really did just want to talk to Hunter, but if it escalated to something more, well, Chris couldn't deny that he would like to get his hands on Hunter. He was still in great shape.

"And what happens if Hunter decides to say you assaulted him? Then you've got another lawsuit and one that _could_ damage Stephanie's chances at keeping Keagan with her. You know better than that Chris. You can't retaliate. Everything you do right now until this gets settled can be held against you."

"I wasn't going to like, go to his hotel room, I would set something up in a public place."

"I'd still advise against that."

"He's just being an asshole about the whole thing," Chris said with frustration. "I feel like I can't do anything and I want to tell him that this is ridiculous. I've never done anything or said anything in the effect that he can't see his daughter and Stephanie never has either. This is out of spite."

"Then we have to trust the judge to see that and rule in Stephanie's favor."

"I feel ineffectual."

"I know, it's hard because you _want_ to do something to help the situation, but the best thing you can do is to stay away from him altogether and just let it go through the justice system."

"How long do you think something like this could take?"

"It's hard to estimate a time, it could take months," he said. "I'd plan for months."

"Okay, well, thank you."

"Chris, promise me that you aren't going to go out there and do something stupid that would jeopardize Stephanie's case in keeping her daughter."

Chris didn't want to give that kind of promise. He just wasn't the kind of guy that sat back and watched something happen around him. He was a man of action and right now he wanted to take that action. He just wanted to try and find out what the hell was Hunter's reasoning for this. Well, he knew what his reasoning was, but he just wanted to get it out in the open. Stephanie didn't deserve this. Ripping Keagan away from the only home that she knew was wrong, and yet this asshole was going to go ahead and do it.

"Fine, I'll keep away from him," Chris finally answered.

"Chris…"

"No, I really will. I don't want to jeopardize Stephanie's case. I wouldn't do that," he told his lawyer. "I'm just going to go home."

"Good, I'm holding you to that."

"Thanks, Frank," Chris said, shaking his hand.

"Well, you know, I'm always on the clock with you," Frank joked.

Chris left and when he was outside the building he took a deep breath. He really did, right that moment, think about going and seeing Hunter anyways. The anger pent up inside of him because of that guy was incredible at the moment. After having to listen to Stephanie for what seemed like hours last night, he was especially volatile. But no, he wasn't going to do anything that would help that bastard take Keagan away from Stephanie.

Instead, he conceded and went home. The drive was tense for him, very white-knuckled. It took all his willpower not to go down to the hotel where Hunter was staying at. He took a deep breath when he pulled into his own driveway and looked to the house in front of him, thinking about how different this was. He was pulling into a house where his family was, a house he had bought with Stephanie. His life had changed so drastically since Stephanie had stepped back into his life and he knew right then that he wouldn't see Hunter at all unless there were lawyers present.

He didn't want to disrupt this life he was building.

"Where were you?" Stephanie asked as soon as he was through the door.

"I was out."

"Out where?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her. This was the Stephanie he knew and loved.

"I went to go see my lawyer, I've been having him look at the case as well."

"I have my own lawyer," she responded.

"Yeah, I know," he said to her. "I just wanted another opinion on the situation. I know that your company has lawyers under retainer, but I just wanted to see my guy because he's been my lawyer for a long time and he deals with a lot of high-profile stuff, so I thought he could spare a few minutes to look this over."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't need your help."

"Don't pull this, Stephanie," he warned her, knowing what she was doing. "I'm not going to let you handle this by yourself, no matter how much I know you think that you can always take what's being thrown at you, but we are together now, so don't shut me out."

"I have things under control," she said, turning away from him.

He walked up behind her and wrapped her up in a tight hug, "I don't doubt that, but I wan to help."

"Okay," she relented, just not wanting to fight with him too.

"I learned something interesting though."

"What?"

"Hunter had a DUI and a resisting arrest charge."

"What?" Stephanie asked, turning to face Chris. "Are you serious? I never heard anything about that…but then, I didn't really hear anything about him period while he was out there. He never really called me or told me anything about his life."

"Yeah, so that's going to help us."

"That will help," Stephanie said, cracking her first smile since, well, she couldn't even remember. Chris nodded and kissed her forehead. "I don't have anything like that on my record."

"I know," he said. "Neither do I. It's definitely going to be in our favor."

"Yeah."

"I wanted to go see him," Chris admitted.

"No, Chris…no."

"I didn't, my lawyer told me that I shouldn't do that in case Hunter decided to get some ideas and accuse me of assault or stalking or some other bullshit charge. I understood where he was coming from, so I didn't, but I really wanted to."

"I don't want you to do anything to him. We can't let him get anything on us," she told him, taking his face into her hands. "I'm sorry that I broke down last night, it's not going to happen again."

"Don't apologize for that, that's stupid," he told her.

"I know, but I just needed to say it. I'm better than that. I'm not going to let him take my daughter away from me. He's just not going to take her. I don't care what I have to do, but I'm not going to let him raise my daughter. He wasn't even here to take care of her. He went off with his girlfriend and abandoned them. There's no way he's just going to take her now."

"That's the spirit, and the Stephanie that I know and love," he said, pulling her closer and leaning in to kiss her softly. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. She took comfort in his kiss, letting him explore her mouth.

"I love you," she whispered in between kisses.

"I love you too," he said, then pulled away and smiled, "Ferris was calling me Daddy earlier, you should've heard it."

"I did actually," she said, glad that they were talking about something more light-hearted and definitely happier than the thought of Keagan being taken away. "When you were gone, she asked when Daddy was coming back home. It was sweet."

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I just…couldn't believe it."

She smiled, "She loves you."

"Yeah, it's…incredible."

If there was one thing that was going well, it was his relationship with Ferris. He had already loved her, that wasn't a problem. He didn't love her more now, he knew that, but it was different now. There was this very paternal feeling that was growing within him. He felt it with Keagan too, it was this natural need to protect them. A fatherly instinct he was sure, and he imagined that fathers everywhere felt the same way that he did.

"So please, just don't go see Hunter."

"I won't, I swear, I won't do anything to him."

"Good, because you're right, this is _our_ fight, and we're going to win this, Chris. Keagan isn't going to go anywhere. I might've doubted it last night, but I'm ready to fight to the end to keep my daughter."

"Me too."

"I sound like a Lifetime Movie."

He laughed, "Well…a little."

"I guess the sentiment is the same."

"It is, I guess, I don't watch too many Lifetime Movies," he chuckled. "But I get what you're saying, we're going to go for what is ours."

"Damn straight."


	48. Chapter 48

"So are you ready for it?"

"Ready for what?" Chris asked as Brad sat down next to him.

"Well, I let the cat out of the bag about your daughter."

"You…what?" Chris asked. "I thought we were going to be doing it discreetly. You said you would let us know before you were going to do it. This is not letting me know, this is blindsiding me."

"I thought you wouldn't mind, I sold the story exclusively."

"Please tell me you didn't sell it to some cheesy tabloid, brad, I swear to God if I have to let this leak to some stupid tabloid I'm going to be so pissed off. I wanted to do this with a little bit of dignity."

"Don't worry, it's not a tabloid, it's legit."

"Legit…not like Playboy legit, right?"

"GQ," Brad answered.

"Oh, well, I guess…I guess that's fine," Chris sighed. "So I'm going to do an interview with them."

"And a photo-shoot," Brad added. "You're going to be on the cover. This is huge news, man, we're talking big stuff. You know, if we were promoting an album right now, this would be perfect."

"I'm glad you're only thinking of my career when my personal life is so up in the air."

"Chris, man, even you know that this could be good for an album. As it is, it's going to get you a lot of publicity."

"I hope it doesn't," Chris said. "I don't want Stephanie, Ferris, or Keagan to be tailed around. I want it to be like when Gavin Rossdale found out he had like a sixteen-year-old daughter by an ex, that's what I want it to be like."

"Dude, you're bigger than Rossdale. I think you can really parlay this into some good publicity. You're making good with the kid, you're with her mother, things are good for you. I think by drawing in that family man mentality you're going to do a world of good for your image with the older crowd."

"Fine, okay, if that's what you think."

"It is, plus, _plus_, I got you in an exclusive interview with _60 Minutes_, where you'll talk about it in a candid interview," he winked. "We could even bring in Stephanie for part of the interview, maybe show some stuff with Ferris."

"Absolutely not, no interviews with her. Maybe, _maybe_ one picture, nothing intrusive, just a far away shot with her. Not enough for people to recognize her. Man, I don't even want her name to get out. She's in school right now and the mothers around here."

"Whatever," Brad said. "You are a huge rock star, you are insanely popular. Plus, nobody knows where you live. As far as they're concerned, you still live in Florida. We can mention in the interview that you're living in Connecticut, and I'm sure Stephanie isn't in the book."

"No, she's not in the book, but people know where she works."

"Well, she's been getting used to the paparazzi, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't exactly like to see pictures of herself in those stupid papers. She's a private person."

"Is she?"

"Now she is. She doesn't want to have to constantly look over her shoulder when she goes for a cup of coffee or something. I just…I wish they didn't have to be involved in this."

"She's with you, Chris, that means that she's going to be a part of everything that you do from now on. If you're nominated for an award, she's going to be expected to be there. I'm sure there are a ton of designers that would love to get their hands on her. I mean, being seen with you is being _seen_ so they're going to want their stuff on her."

Chris sighed. "Well, can we just try to get them their privacy? I really don't want her to be hounded, and I want Ferris to not be hounded at all, I swear to God, Brad, make this happen. She's my kid, and I don't want anyone to make her feel uncomfortable when she's doing her daily things."

"Okay, I will make sure that you have privacy."

"So when did you schedule this interview?"

"Free this afternoon?" Brad said charmingly.

"You're kidding me, right? How the hell long ago did you make this interview?"

"Not long ago. I'm just asking because I know that the sooner you get it done the better. I think they're going to want you for next month's issue and as soon as you do that, they can get started on it. It's a good thing, trust me."

"I don't trust you any farther than I can throw you," Chris told him. "Where do I meet them?"

"I'll take you to their offices in New York, I've got a limo waiting to take us."

"So you assumed I'd go."

"You know what's good for your career, Chris, you've always known. So therefore I knew that you would do the interview today," Brad said.

"I hate you."

"You love me," Brad said cheesily.

"Fine, let's go, I guess I don't have anything to do today. Stephanie is going to be picking up the girls from school so that's taken care of. Can we just stop by Titan first so that I could tell her that I'm going to be doing this interview and that she's going to have everyone know our business?"

"Of course," Brad said, clapping Chris on the back as he got up and went out of the house to the waiting limo. Sometimes he didn't this fame thing, and sometimes he definitely didn't like his manager. Brad was one of those aggressive guys, so in some ways it was really good of Chris to have a manager like that, but in some circumstances, he really didn't like the guy. He really wasn't anticipating telling the world about Ferris, but it was better found out this way than having someone dig into their past and getting the facts wrong.

They drove the limo to Titan and Chris made Brad wait in the limo. He walked into the building, saying hello to security and then went up to Stephanie's office. He asked her secretary if she was in and she told him that Stephanie was in her office and to go right in. He walked up to her door, which was open. She was reading over something and making notes on it as he leaned in the doorway and watched her. She blew some hair out of her face before she sat up to grab another pen before jumping at the presence at the door.

"Chris, you scared me."

"Hey," he said, coming over and giving her a little kiss.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, you know how I was meeting with Brad this morning at home?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, he got me an interview with GQ that's going to reveal everything about…well, Ferris and everything. He just told me about it today and we're going to go right now to New York to talk to them. I wanted to let you know because you're my girlfriend and you should know when your life is about to change."

"Oh, so you're going to be talking about the thing with Ferris?"

"Yeah, it's better that I'm the one that lets everyone know, you know, better than like, some stupid paparazzi guy hearing her call me Daddy or something," Chris explained. "I told Brad, though, that you and Ferris are going to have privacy. You two are not to be bothered, so he's going to take every precaution to protect your privacy."

"Thank you," she told him gratefully.

"So are you going to hate me for doing this?"

"No, you're right, we should get this out there ourselves rather than someone else letting it out there. I just…I guess I'm just not used to having the whole world know my business. The wrestling community, sure, it's not that large, but the world, the world is pretty big," she joked.

"I know that I'm a lot to handle."

"You're not…"

"I am," he interrupted. "I come with a lot of crap that you have to deal with, and I'm really sorry for that. I know that being with me is like this weird, crazy adventure and you sometimes may feel like--"

"Chris, stop, I love you, and I come with my own baggage, so we're both carrying luggage in this relationship. Me with my kids, you with your fame, it's give and take."

"Okay, you're the best, I'll be back for dinner, I'll pick something up in New York, something really good, pizza or something and I'll bring it home so you don't have to worry about cooking."

"See, that's just one reason I want to be with you," she joked.

He gave her one last kiss before he left with Brad to go to New York. They discussed what Chris was going to say in the interview, what points he should hit and what he didn't want to talk about. He felt a lot better prepared by the time they actually arrived at the magazine headquarters. Brad led him inside and they walked up to the floor on which the main operations were on and met with the editor who set them up with an interviewer.

"I can go this alone, man," Chris said to Brad.

"Okay," Brad said, letting him alone with a flourish as he met with the guy who was going to interview him.

"I'm Allan, do you want to go grab a cup of coffee? Might be easier to talk there?"

"Sure," Chris said, already pulling his sunglasses down over his eyes even before they got outside.

"Don't worry, Chris, this will be painless."

_Add Daddy to the List of Things Mastered by Chris Jericho _

_He looks like your typical rock star, minus the number of hideous tattoos littering his body. The long hair that the girls screamed over is gone too, but the girls are still screaming. There's a different air today about Chris Jericho, and I can see it as clear as day as we catch a cup of coffee before sitting down to talk about the changes that Jericho has undergone seemingly overnight. There's a different air to him now, not that I've ever met the man, but I think myself a good judge of character so I think I can tell there's a difference from the way he was photographed just a year ago and how he carries himself today. _

_As we sit down a few fans come up to him, giggling, trying to hold back their screams, making them stay in the back of their throats. They're giddy though, meeting their idol like this. Chris graciously signs whatever they want them to sign and speaks with them as they stutter out their answers or questions. He's incredibly patient, and honestly speaking, one of the more patient people that I've ever interviewed. _

_Life has certainly changed for Chris Jericho over the past year, judging from the tabloids alone. He tells me that the only thing that I should believe is what comes out of his mouth. There were pictures of him earlier this year with WWE heiress Stephanie McMahon then suddenly he was having lunch with another woman on the beaches of Florida. _

_He says on that, "The woman that I was having lunch with was actually my best friend's wife. She had just had a baby and needed to get out of the house." _

_He's still with Stephanie McMahon incidentally. She's the reason for his change, he says, and everything that has come after dating her, this new man that's seated before me, that's all because of her too. _

_"Stephanie's the best, she's changed me for the better," he tells me, and his face is lighting up at the sound of her name. "She's incredible." _

_He never thought that he'd see a day where he would want to settle down with one woman, but that day has arrived. Chris has had immense success with the bevy of albums he and his band, Fozzy, have released. He's been nominated for an Oscar for Best Song and found it a huge thrill when he got to perform it at the ceremony, though it lost out to another song. Success hasn't come easy if you've read his biography, written several years ago. Yes, you read that right, he does have a biography out there. _

_Chris is what you might call a Renaissance man. _

_"I've always wanted to get out there and do everything. I wasn't happy being the guy standing on the sidelines, I always wanted to be the guy doing everything, being someone. So I went out and I did that. I did wrestling and then when I found that I had accomplished everything I set out to accomplish, I branched out. I became a musician, I went and wrote my book, I did theatre, I didn't want to limit myself. I wanted to conquer the world. I wanted to be everything." _

_You can add a new word to that list of everything: Daddy. _

_No, his girlfriend isn't pregnant, not right now anyways. Exclusively revealing to our magazine, Chris Jericho has actually been a father for the past seven years…he just didn't know it. _

_You read that right, he didn't know he was a father. _

_The mother is actually quite predictable as it is his current girlfriend, Stephanie McMahon. Sound complicated? It is and it isn't, Chris tells me. It might seem overly complicated, this idea of having a child you didn't even know about with the woman you're currently with, but Chris assures us that it was all a misunderstanding. _

_In his own words: _

_"What happened was that…I've been attracted to Stephanie for a long time. We worked together, which I'm sure everyone and their mother knows about now. She had separated from her husband and we had a short relationship with each other. It obviously got physical and she got pregnant. She ended up getting back together with her husband a couple weeks later and thought it was his child. She didn't realize that she could be my daughter until she saw us together and remembered that we had been together." _

_So you can say that he's a first time dad although you wouldn't think so if you saw his daughter. "She's amazing," he gushes about her. "She's incredibly smart and funny and sweet. It's a whole new adventure that I'm living, but I can't help it. I love having a family. I just kind of assumed that I wasn't really going to get all of that, but I know have it and it's awesome." _

_So what of his career? _

_"Still going strong, just because I've got a kid and a personal life now doesn't mean that I'm just quitting. Fozzy's going to go back into the studio soon and put out a great album, and I've got some solo stuff working for some films so maybe you'll see me at the Oscars again." _

_And is marriage in his future? _

_"Probably, maybe…okay, no idea. I'm not going to let Stephanie read this and figure out what the hell is going on with that, but don't be surprised if it happens at some point. I guess I should just go all the way and marry her." _

_So does this all explain what has changed about him? He sits there a moment, thinking about the question and his cell phone rings. He looks at it and checks to see who it is and smiles. He tells me it's his mother and he takes the call. Apparently Stephanie's youngest daughter left something on their last visit. Another person comes up for an autograph and still, Chris is gracious even though he just got off the phone and wanted to call Stephanie to let her know that his mother was going to send whatever was left behind back to Connecticut. _

_"I don't think I've changed," he asserts. "Not much anyways. I think I'm better off now. You go through your life being this one guy, and that's fine, but at some point you need to grow up, I think. I'm finally growing up and I'm happy. I have a daughter, man, and she's incredible, I have a girl who loves me and her other kid is great too, I can't complain. But I don't think I've changed all that much." _

_Chris Jericho is still a rock star, an author, an actor, but now you can add Daddy to the list._


	49. Chapter 49

So now they waited. The truth was out there for the entire world to read and they just had to wait for the fallout from it. It made Stephanie nervous for Ferris going to school, but the truth was going to come out anyways, and with Chris living such a high-profile life it would've probably come out in the worst possible way, with Ferris getting dragged into the spotlight and Chris and Stephanie getting drug through the mud. That was the one situation that he wanted to avoid, and he would take all measures to avoid it.

"Stephanie?"

Stephanie looked up from the files sitting on her desk and saw her father at the door, the magazine in his hand. She sighed. Obviously her mother had not taken liberties to tell her father of the situation and this was probably how he had found out. She gestured towards the chairs in front of her desk and her father took a seat in the one closest to him, putting the magazine on the table where it was open to that specific article.

"Hi, Dad," Stephanie said solemnly and it was not really a friendly greeting, but one where she knew she was in trouble. One he knew well from her teenage years.

"Care to explain?" he asked.

"Not really," she admitted. "How did you find the magazine?"

"Well, it wasn't that difficult with everyone in the building reading it, not to mention me getting countless e-mails about it from colleagues. You really went large-scale this time, didn't you, Princess?"

"It wasn't my idea, Dad," she explained. "Chris's agent just wanted to get it out there so the backlash wouldn't be as bad."

"So what happened?"

"It's a long story, Dad. It's all true though, she's Chris's daughter. She knows, she's known for a little while now and she's getting used to the idea. She even started calling Chris dad, which he loves."

"So you didn't know earlier?"

"I had no idea, it was a lapse in judgment. If Chris had never come back into my life, I probably wouldn't have known at all. I would've just believed she was Hunter's daughter for the rest of my life. Something with Chris just triggered it and I remembered."

"Oh, I see," Vince said. "Are you prepared for what this may do?"

"You're never prepared for scandal," Stephanie said. "You just kind of have to go with the flow though. I just want everything to be okay for Ferris. I could care less about any looks that I get, I just want everything to be okay for her."

"I'm sure you'll figure out a way. I would've liked to have known about this before it hit a major publication though," he told her. He was being especially nice to her because he knew what this was probably like for her. She was his daughter and despite her past mistakes, she would always be his daughter and he loved her, mistakes and all.

"I'm sorry, I thought Mom would've told you," Stephanie said.

"Oh, well, maybe she didn't think that she had to," Vince said. "How is Chris dealing with all of this? I'm assuming that he's okay with everything since I don't see that you two have broken up."

"No, we're fine, better than ever actually," Stephanie said. "Except for the situation with Hunter, that's been really difficult for all of us. I got a call from my lawyer earlier and until this whole thing gets resolved, I have to share joint custody with Hunter. He asked for it and it was granted for now. I just hate the idea of her going with him when she doesn't know what's going on."

"Oh, you'll figure it out," Vince told her. "You're a McMahon. You've got a good man by you too."

"Yeah, he is good," Stephanie said.

"I'll let you get back to work making me more money," Vince winked at her. He picked up the magazine and walked out of the office, leaving her alone.

She thought to what she had told her father. She didn't want Keagan going over to Hunter's. He didn't even have a house and she'd be damned if she sent her daughter all the way to California. She also didn't know how this other woman of Hunter's would treat her daughter. Shayna didn't seem like a horrible person, but she knew next to nothing about her and now she was forced to hand her daughter over to him and that woman.

"Knock, knock."

Stephanie looked up and saw her brother, "So did you come to talk to me about the big secret too?"

"No, but now that you brought it up, wow…"

"I know, I put myself into a bad situation and now everything is out in the open and I've left myself open for major criticism from any and all media outlets because Chris is really famous. So now I'm going to have to watch out for the paparazzi everywhere I go."

"Well, I was actually going to say that it's a good thing because Hunter is an asshole and I was kind of hoping by some chance that Keagan was Chris's too," Shane smirked.

Stephanie laughed. It was good to have as good a brother who didn't judge. "No, there's no chance of that being the case, though at this point, I really wish it was."

"Damn," Shane said. "Here I thought you could finally, _finally_ be rid of him forever."

"Don't I wish. I mean, he wants to take Keags away from me."

"He what!" Shane exclaimed. "How dare he!"

"Quiet down," she told him. "Chris and I are working on making sure that doesn't happen. He even has his big-shot lawyers on it and they've found some evidence against Hunter, so it's looking good for our side. It's just going to take a while to resolve and in the meantime, I have to share custody of Keagan, which is the part that really bothers me."

"You have to share custody with that asshole?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "He's coming to pick her up on Friday actually. I don't want to let her go, but what can I do? It's court-mandated and I can't just hold her off from him, it'll look like I'm kidnapping my own daughter."

"I wish I could take her and then you know, throw everyone off the scent and give her back," Shane said. "So how is Chris with the news about Ferris? Is he really happy or is he just pretending to be happy?"

"He's really happy. Ferris is starting to call him daddy and everything, and it's making him so happy. He loves it. I think he's always wanted kids, he's just never had time to actually have them with his busy schedule, but now he does, and he's happy."

"And are there going to be more in his future?" Shane wondered, raising his eyebrow.

"Are you asking if I'm pregnant right now?" she asked.

"No, but are you?"

"No," she told him. "I'm not pregnant, but you know, I probably will be in the future, and that's all I'm telling you right now about that, but Chris and I have discussed more children, and we'd both like more."

"Marriage?"

"Shane, stop, I don't know, he hasn't asked if that's what you're implying," she told him.

"Okay, okay, I got it, well, I just wanted to say congratulations," Shane said, "and you're _really_ sure that Chris isn't Keagan's father?"

"I'm sure."

Later that evening, Stephanie was sitting with Keagan in her bed after she had tucked her in for the evening. Chris was downstairs with Ferris watching television. Stephanie hadn't yet told Keagan that she was going to have to go with Hunter this weekend. Keagan sunk her head into her pillow as Stephanie faced her.

"Sweets, I just wanted to let you know that this weekend, you're going to go spend some time with your daddy," Stephanie told her.

"With Ferris?"

"No, it's just going to be you."

"Why? Ferris always comes with me," Keagan told her. "She comes with me when we go see Grandma and Grandpa and she came when we went to see Daddy before."

"Well, remember, Daddy isn't Ferris's daddy, Chris is Ferris's daddy, so she's probably not going to go see Daddy anymore," Stephanie said, knowing that probably sounded very confusing to such a young child.

"Oh, so I have to go alone?" she asked. Stephanie nodded. "Can't you come?"

"No, sweets, I can't."

"Can Chris?" she asked, exploring all her options.

"No, he can't come either, you just have to go by yourself, but it's only for the weekend and I'm sure that you're going to have a blast with Daddy and Shayna. You like Daddy, don't you? Don't you want to spend time with him?"

Stephanie was trying to make it sound enticing to her, but it didn't even sound like she was doing a good job. "I guess," Keagan said. "I like Daddy."

"Yeah, see, so it won't be so bad."

"I don't want to be alone though," she pouted. "I don't want to be by myself, I won't have anyone to play with."

"You can play with Daddy, you'll have fun."

She sighed, "Okay, Mommy."

"Now get some sleep, sweets," Stephanie said, kissing Keagan on the forehead.

"Night, Mommy."

She left the room and leaned back against the door. She didn't want to turn over her little girl. She knew she was being selfish in a way, but she had been the one constant in Keagan's life and now someone wanted her to share and she guessed she must've missed that day of Kindergarten because she didn't want to share her daughter with anyone, especially not the child's father, and especially, _especially _not Shayna. She wasn't worried that Keagan would like Shayna, but she worried that Shayna would try her hardest to steal her away. No, that was stupid.

She thought back to what Shane had said earlier. She almost wished that Keagan could be Chris's daughter. It would make things so much easier. If she had known all along that Ferris was Chris's daughter, maybe they would've been together ever since. Maybe Hunter would just be a minor blip on her radar and she'd have complete happiness. Chris made her so happy now that she couldn't even imagine being with anyone else. She lamented the fact that this could've been something that had always been.

Stephanie went downstairs and went and sat next to Chris, cuddling up to him. These could've been the arms that would always have been wrapped around her protectively. She felt so safe with him and she liked to think that he felt that same way about her. He wrapped his arm around her and she tucked her head under his chin. "How did it go?" he whispered in her ear. She thought about it for a second, just because she thought it had gone okay, but she wasn't okay with what she had to do.

"It was okay," she whispered back. Ferris was falling asleep in Chris's lap so she wasn't even paying attention to what was going on. Stephanie was happy though that Ferris was adjusting so well to everything that was changing around her. "She doesn't want to be alone, she said she'll have nobody to play with when she's with him. She asked if all of us could come too."

"It'll be over soon, don't worry. Once the court sees all the stuff we have against him, it'll be open and shut and we can just move forward without worrying anymore about him. Maybe I can even adopt Keagan or something."

"Really?"

"Well, before I came around, Hunter didn't want part of her life, once the court tells him he can't have her full-time, he'll probably take off again."

"I don't want to think about it."

He kissed her head, "Okay, we won't."

"And you really believe we'll keep her."

"Absolutely. Hey, Steph?"

"Yeah?" He paused for a while and she thought that maybe he had forgotten what he was going to say and was back to watching whatever it was they were walking on television. She felt him take a steadying breath and she held him tighter around the waist.

"What would you think about marrying me?"


	50. Chapter 50

"What did you just say?"

"Well, I was asking you if you would want to marry me," Chris told her, his voice still low, partly because of the gravitas of his question and partly because of the little girl asleep just below them. He looked Stephanie straight in the eyes, clear blue meeting cloudy blue. She could tell from his expression that he meant every word he had just muttered to her and somehow that made it even more difficult to breathe.

"You were?"

"Well, yeah, that's usually what 'will you marry me' is all about? I thought that maybe you would want to marry me," he said to her again.

"Wow," she told him. "I did _not_ expect that tonight, not at all."

"Well, I wanted to make some grand proposal, you know, one that would get me in all the newspapers for being the most romantic guy ever. I was thinking about taking you someplace beautiful and decorating an entire room with white lilies and you know, being in a nice suit and getting down on my knee and everything, I just wanted you to have something really great to remember…"

"But…"

"But, I don't know, that's not what our relationship has ever been about and I guess I thought that a proposal that fits our relationship more would be more meaningful."

"I like that thought," she told him.

"I have a ring and everything."

"You do?" she asked incredulously. She would've figured that he wouldn't have had one yet, or at all. She didn't really know what she was thinking right now as the thoughts rushed through her head at an alarming speed.

"Yeah, it's upstairs, I'd get it for you, but um, I can't move," he said, glancing down at their daughter, who was asleep across his lap. "But you know, it's up there, in my sock drawer, just sitting there…it's tasteful, huge and tasteful, I figured that was more your style."

"You're right."

"I'm sorry this isn't fancy, I really am, it just came over me, you know, and I wanted to propose and it felt right, and you know, I wanted it to be a discussion, you don't have to say yes right now, obviously. You can think about it. I'm fine with that. It's an open-ended offer."

"You already know I'm going to say yes though," she told him. He started to smirk, "See, don't go posturing to me and telling me that I can take all the time that I want, you know I'm going to say yes, you're just trying to make it seem like I have a choice in the matter."

"Of course you have a choice in the matter."

"Well, you know my choice," she told him. "Of course I would want to marry you. You've been nothing but good to me and my daughter and our daughter, and well, I'm happier with you than I have been in a really long time."

"I am too," he told her. "I am too. You have no idea, Steph, how much better I feel now that I'm with you, you know. The world of Hollywood and A-lists and B-lists is so tiring, you know, a revolving door of people in and out of your life."

"I can see where that can happen. Not that I'd know it or anything, being on the outskirts of fame," she laughed.

"So…um, this whole thing, it's a yes, huh?"

"It's an absolute yes," she told him. "I would love to marry you, Chris."

Chris bit his lip, "You know, a long time ago, many, many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away--"

"Oh, here we go, _Star Wars_ reference," Stephanie joked.

"Shut up," he said good-naturedly. "What I'm trying to say here…a long time ago, I liked you."

"So you don't like me now."

Chris just looked at her. She gave him a grin and it was funny grin, one filled with promise and a future. Here he was, sitting with his…fiancée and his daughter, with a little girl he loved sleeping upstairs and they were a family. They were a family now and they were going to be a family for a long time. He just reached out and tucked some of her dark hair behind her ear and she leaned into his touch.

"No, I like you now too," he told her. "I just had the biggest crush on you, you know. It was one of those schoolboy things that happens from time to time."

"So you would write Stephanie Jericho on everything, will I find a notebook with it scribbled all over it in little hearts?" she asked.

"I tucked that away a long time ago," he told her with a wink. "I just didn't think I had a chance back then. I still didn't until the day that I ran into you at DisneyWorld, okay, I didn't even think that I had a shot then either. I just spent a lot of time thinking of what could've been…if I had met you first, if you hadn't started dating Hunter, if something else had been different, I don't know, it's just been a really weird journey to here, but I want you to know that for a long time, you were the only thing that I really wanted. I mean, it wasn't like I couldn't survive without you, but now that I know what it's like to actually _be_ with you, it has exceeded even my wildest expectations. You gave me a daughter, for God's sakes."

She laughed, "Well, that one was kind of on you too."

"Yeah, I guess, you make me happy, Steph, and like, I knew if we got the chance back then that we could be something great. It was just something that I could feel in my bones, like when you just know something in your gut."

"I know what you mean."

"Good…good," he said. "I'm going to go put Ferris to bed."

"Okay, sounds good, I'll get things cleaned up around here and we'll meet in the bedroom," she told him suggestively.

"Sounds like a plan."

Chris shifted so he could lift up Ferris and he picked up his little girl. She curled herself in his arms and buried her face against his shoulder, not wanting to wake up right now. He took her upstairs and helped her brush her teeth and get into her pajamas before she climbed into bed, exhausted. He pulled up her blankets and she turned on her side. He leaned down to kiss her temple goodnight.

"Night, Bueller," he whispered to her.

"Night, Daddy," she mumbled back unconsciously.

Chris closed the door partway behind him before he got to his bedroom. Stephanie was just getting dressed into her pajamas. Chris went straight to his nightstand and grabbed the ring box. Stephanie came out of the closet and saw Chris sitting on the edge of the bed, holding up an open ring box. She walked over to him and stood in between his legs. She looked down at the ring and it was just as he had said, huge, but tasteful. All she could see were diamonds, but none of them were outrageously large.

She stuck out her left hand and he put the ring on it, slipping it down until it reached her knuckle. She looked at it for a moment, shifting her hand to see it from all the different angles. Then she took Chris's face in between her hands and kissed him, falling back with him until he was on his back and she was hovering over it.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it…I love you," she told him. "Let's just stay like this forever…"

"Okay, I'm all for that."

She leaned down and kissed him again.

The next morning came too soon for them. They only got a couple of hours apiece. After their wild, passionate, getting-married sex, they started talking about Keagan and the joint custody situation. Stephanie had tried not to shed tears, but it was hard not to let them come to her eyes when she thought about the fact that she was going to be forced to let her daughter see Hunter. She had never had a problem with letting him see Keagan, but this was different. She was being ordered to let her little girl go.

"I don't want to wake her up," Stephanie said the next morning. "I just want to lay here and revel in our engagement."

"I want that too."

"I wish I could just run away with her. Let's do it, let's run away."

"I wish we could," Chris said, rubbing her cheek, "but you know that we can't. We have to be the model parents here."

"That's not why you proposed, right? Because you want to show that we have a stable family for the judge?"

"No, that's not why."

"Good," she said and that was that. She took a deep breath and got out of bed, "I think I'm going to go wake Keagan up and help her pack some things for when she's there."

"Sounds good," he said, "you need help?"

"No, I'm good."

Stephanie gave him one last kiss before she got dressed and went into Keagan's bedroom. She sat down on the small bed and ran her hand over Keagan's hair. The little girl woke up with a funny, little snort and Stephanie giggled as Keagan returned to the waking world. Her dirty blonde hair mussed up from sleep.

"Hi, Mommy," she said sweetly.

"Hey there, sweets, we have to get ready for Daddy to come get you."

"Do I have to?" Keagan asked. "I don't wanna go by myself."

"I know, but you'll have fun with Daddy, I know you will."

"Are you sure?" she asked worriedly. She didn't know if she wanted to go see her daddy alone. It wasn't that she didn't like her daddy, but she had just never gone with him without her sister there, but her sister didn't have to go anymore because her daddy wasn't Ferris's daddy for some reason or another. Ferris was so lucky, she got to have Chris as a daddy.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Mommy, I want Chris to be _my_ daddy, why can't you change that like you changed it with Ferris?" Keagan asked, pursing her lips and looking at Stephanie.

"Well…honey, because Chris _is_ Ferris's daddy and Daddy is your daddy."

"But why? You can change it, you're Mommy, you can change it," she whined. "I want Chris to my daddy so I don't have to go."

"Believe me, baby, if I could make Chris your daddy, I would."

"So I still have to go?" she asked pathetically.

"I'm afraid so."

She sighed and hugged her mommy around the waist, "I'll help you if you don't make me go!"

Stephanie hugged Keagan and kissed her head, "Baby, you'll be fine. I promise, it's just Daddy, and even if you are without Ferris, it'll still be okay because Daddy will pay attention to you, and you can have fun together."

"I guess."

"Come on, where's my crazy little girl?"

"Right here," Keagan said sadly.

"Come on, let's just get your stuff together and then we can go get Ferris because Chris and I have something big to tell you."

"Big?" she asked. "Like what? A pony?"

"No, not a pony," she said in a goofy voice. "It's something good though, I promise."

"Tell, tell, tell!"

"Not right now, come on, let's get packed."

Keagan didn't stop bothering her about what the news was the entire time they were packing her things. She was glad that the idea of a secret kept Keagan distracted enough that she didn't ask to not go again. It broke her heart to think that Keagan really didn't want to go but was being forced to. If Hunter had just come around more often, this wouldn't be as much of an issue. They got her things together and went downstairs where Ferris was already eating a bowl of cereal with Chris.

"Mommy, can you tell _now_?" Keagan asked impatiently.

"Well, I guess we can tell," Stephanie said.

"Tell what?" Ferris asked, looking between Chris and Stephanie. "What?"

"Well," Stephanie said, sitting down and pulling Keagan into her lap. "Do you want to tell them, Chris, or should I?"

"You can."

"No, you go," she said.

"Okay," he nodded, "well, your mommy and I are going to be getting married."

"Married?" Ferris asked, her eyes lighting up, "You're going to marry Mommy!"

That was the loudest Chris had ever heard Ferris be and he looked down at her. She looked absolutely ecstatic and she rushed towards him to give him a hug. Keagan looked up at Stephanie, a little confused as to what was going on and why everyone seemed so happy. "What does marry mean?" Keagan asked.

"It means that Chris and I love each other very much and we want to spend forever together and he wants to spend forever with you guys too."

"Oh, I wanna spend forever with you too, Chris," Keagan said very seriously.

"Good, I was hoping you'd say that."

"So you're never going to go away?" Ferris asked. "Not ever."

"Not ever," he told her. She hugged him even tighter around the waist and he kissed the top of her head. Stephanie smiled sweetly at the picture they were making. She knew, and Chris knew, that Ferris was likely also reacting out of response for Hunter leaving. Knowing Chris wasn't going anywhere was a relief to her. She didn't want to lose two daddies in a short amount of time.

"So you guys will get to be flower girls or something, we'll get pretty dresses and it'll be great," Stephanie said.

"I want a pretty dress," Keagan said dreamily.

"Well, we'll get you one."

The doorbell rang then and Stephanie couldn't believe that he was here so early. She hadn't even had enough time to feed her little girl breakfast. She got up and Keagan followed her slowly. She was trying so hard to delay the inevitable. Stephanie opened the door to her ex-husband and tried very hard not to give him the dirtiest look imaginable. She held it in barely.

"Hey there, kooky pie," Hunter said, kneeling down to her level, "you ready to go."

Keagan looked up one more time at Stephanie, pleading with her eyes not to go. She was practically begging. Stephanie nodded slightly and Keagan turned to her daddy, resigned to her fate, "Yeah."

Stephanie bent down, placing both her hands on Keagan's shoulders, and kissed Keagan's cheek, "You'll have fun."

The ring on her finger shone brightly, leaving nothing to the imagination of Hunter. He stared at it for a moment, a very long moment, before looking up at Stephanie, who was taking no notice of him right now. Keagan hugged her mommy and then went and hugged her sister tightly and then ran towards Chris, who hugged her too. Hunter looked on angrily. The little girl was obviously stalling and it bugged him that she was stalling so she wouldn't have to spend as much time with him.

"She hasn't eaten breakfast yet, you're early," Stephanie said succinctly, "so you probably want to feed her first thing."

"I know how to take care of my daughter, thank you."

"Fine," Stephanie said, "just take care of her."

"Whatever, go have fun with your fiancé," he said snidely. "This won't help you in court."

"If you think this is for the court, you're severely mistaken," Stephanie said, challenging him to say more.

"We'll see what's what."

"Yeah, we will, Hunter, we will."


	51. Chapter 51

"Thinks I'm actually getting married to you for _court_ purposes!"

"Stephanie…"

"What? He thinks that we're going to get some quickie wedding in front of a judge before our court cases so we can show off our rings? Is that what he honestly thinks is going to happen here?"

"I don't know, maybe," Chris said. "I'm not marrying you in a courthouse though, I want something really great for our wedding."

"Me too," Stephanie said. "I want a beautiful wedding. I want this to be the only wedding that you ever have, so I want it to be perfect, how dare he think that this is for something other than because we love each other!"

"It's just Hunter, that's how he thinks, you know that."

"I know, but that's sinking so low."

"This is the guy who cheated on you multiple times, you thought that he couldn't sink to very low depths."

"No, I knew he could, he has, I just…I don't know, he's an asshole. I don't know what I ever saw in him in the first place or why I stayed with him for so long. Why didn't I just not get drunk and sleep with you and have your child and divorce him and marry you and have children with you and be happy and everything would be wonderful?"

"Because life doesn't work that way."

"Now my little girl is out with him for an entire weekend and I don't know what they're doing. He has a DUI…what if he gets drunk and takes her out? Oh God, what if he gets in an accident with her?"

Chris stood up and put his hands on Stephanie's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "She'll be fine, okay, Hunter wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his case. Not now anyways, he doesn't know that he's pretty much already blown it."

"But…"

"She'll be okay, it's only for two days and then she'll be back and we'll shower her with love and kisses and whatever she wants."

"Well, not _whatever_ she wants," Stephanie laughed. "You really think that she's going to be okay?"

"I really think she'll be okay," Chris told her.

"I hate to say it, I really do, but well…Ferris said that Shayna isn't that bad, so maybe she can make sure that everything goes okay with Keagan, right?"

"See, that's right."

"Of course, I'm putting my trust into a woman who willingly slept with a married man."

Chris chuckled. "We make our mistakes sometimes. That doesn't mean we're necessarily horrible people."

"Yeah, Keagan will be fine," she said resolutely, "she'll be _fine_."

Keagan raced around, trying to elude her father. They were playing tag, but it wasn't as much fun with just the two of them. Shayna was watching from the blanket they had put on the ground in the middle of the park. She wished that Ferris could be here so that she could play too. That would be more fun than just being chased around by her daddy. Hunter caught up to her and scooped her into his arms.

"Daddy!" she squealed as he lifted her up over his head and then brought her over to their blanket, setting her down on the blanket next to Shayna.

"Did you want to get ice cream?" Hunter said.

"Do they have candy apples?" Keagan asked, "Those are yummy."

"I don't think so," Hunter said, "when did you ever get to like candy apples?"

"When I went to DisneyWorld with Mommy and Ferris, we got candy apples with Chris and he said they were apples dipped in candy and Daddy, they are yummy."

"Oh," Hunter said. "You got them with Chris."

"Uh huh, I was going to get cotton candy, but it's not as good, but if they have cotton candy, I'll get it. Chris takes me and Ferris out for ice cream after school sometimes, 'specially if we go to the library."

"Do you go to the library a lot?"

"Mmhmm, because Ferris likes to read and Chris says that reading is good because it makes you smarter and I want to be smarter because Ferris skipped a grade and I want to too," Keagan said, wanting to prove she was just as good as her sister was. Ferris was really smart, even smarter than the people in her old class and Keagan wanted to be that smart too.

"Do you do a lot of things with Chris?" Shayna asked, her curiosity piqued. She knew that Hunter didn't like the guy, but this was Chris freaking Jericho and he was so famous and so hot she couldn't help herself. She thought she was going to swoon when she met him the first time and it took everything in her not to squeal like a little girl on Christmas. It was Chris Jericho!

"Uh huh, we do things all the time," Keagan explained. "Chris is the best."

Hunter scowled, "Well, he might not be around forever, I'm going to be around forever because I'm your daddy."

"Chris'll be here forever," Keagan said casually. "Mommy is going to marry him, they told us."

"Yeah, but he's not your daddy and I am."

"Hunter," Shayna warned. She didn't want to confuse the little girl and Hunter was trying too hard to force this when they were having a nice enough time already.

"I know you're Daddy," Keagan said, like she wasn't stupid. "But Mommy's going to marry Chris and Ferris asked and he said that meant he was there _forever_. So, Daddy, he's going to be there too."

"Do you like Chris?"

"I love him," Keagan said, not understanding why she was being questioned so much or why her father wanted to know these things. It should be common knowledge that she loved Chris, he lived with her and he was with her mommy. Of course she loved him.

"Oh," Hunter said. "I'm going to go get that ice cream."

"Hunter, baby, wait," Shayna said, starting to get up, but Hunter was stomping away quickly. She sat back down heavily and gave a weak smile to Keagan, who had no idea what was going on. She guessed she could go for some ice cream though, if that was all they had.

"Is Daddy mad?" Keagan asked, finally gleaning onto something not being right about all of this.

"No, he's not mad…"

"He acted like he was."

"He's just…well, I think he misses you a lot is all. He doesn't get to see you a lot, does he?"

"No, but he could if he wanted to."

"Well, he lives far away."

"I know, that's okay," Keagan said to her.

Shayna smiled, "He loves you, you know."

"I know, he's my daddy, I know," she said, shaking her head.

"Just making sure," Shayna said. "That doesn't mean you can't love Chris or anything, just you know…"

"No, I don't know."

"Oh, well, let's just try and not talk about Chris for the next couple of days, okay?" Shayna asked.

"Why?"

"Because, this should be about your Daddy and you."

"Oh."

Shayna could tell that if Keagan didn't stop talking about Chris Hunter was going to completely blow his top. He was trying to establish something with his daughter here, something that they could build on, but she didn't know how committed Hunter was to this venture. She had never brought it up with him, but a part of her thought that Hunter was just doing this to get back at his ex-wife.

That bothered her a lot because she was the woman in Hunter's life and to see him so upset over something dealing with his ex-wife was a little hurtful towards her. She had given up things to be with Hunter too and she knew she had made a mistake, dozens of mistakes, with him, but she was trying to make it right. She was trying to be a better person than she had been when she had let herself fall for Hunter. Now they were together and she had thought they were happy and then his ex-wife gets someone in her life and suddenly it's all about her again.

"Here," Hunter said, handing his daughter an ice cream.

"Thank you," Keagan said.

"Hey," Shayna said, patting the spot next to her. "Thanks for the ice cream."

"You're welcome," he said gruffly.

"Hunter, come on, don't do this," Shayna whispered to him. "She loves you and she wants to be with you."

"Not as much as with _him_."

"Come here," Shayna said, pulling Hunter up. "Keagan, we'll be right back, sit there and eat your ice cream, okay?"

"Sure."

Shayna pulled Hunter a few feet away and then kind of shoved him, "Hunter, you can't do this."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You are interrogating her. Just let her be a little girl," Shayna said. "You don't want her going back home and telling her mother that she didn't have a good time, do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Then you need to calm down and just be yourself, just love her and stop worrying about what she does with Chris. She obviously loves him--"

"I don't get why!" he said angrily. "I don't see what's so great about him. He's a jackass, I just know he is and I don't know why she likes him so much."

"Well, don't worry about it."

"She's my daughter, I'm going to worry," he said through gritted teeth.

"I know, but stop this, please, for me, will you just stop this."

She looked at him pleadingly and he relented, "Fine, I'll try."

"Thank you."

Stephanie sat by the front door almost the entire day Sunday, waiting for Keagan to come home. She kept pushing the drapes back to see if the car passing was the one coming to bring Keagan home to her. After what felt like the hundredth time, the car pulled into the driveway and she jumped up from her perch, giddy with excitement at seeing her daughter again. Two days without her was pure torture. She'd been away longer, sure, but this was different. She had left her in the care of someone she didn't trust and that he given her goosebumps.

Stephanie threw open the door and Keagan came running, "Mommy, hi Mommy."

"Hey there, Keags," Stephanie said, kneeling so she could get a real, big hug from her daughter. She turned to the house, "Chris, Fer, Keagan is back!"

"Keagan!" Ferris yelled from the upstairs playroom and came dashing out as Chris peeked his head out of his office and then headed down as well.

"Where's your daddy?" Stephanie asked Keagan.

"He wanted to just drop me off, he didn't want to talk to you even though he kept asking about you all the time," Keagan said with exasperation. It hadn't been that enjoyable a weekend for her because it seemed every time Shayna was out of the room, her father had asked her about Chris. Some things she didn't know, but she tried her best to tell him, letting him know all the time that Chris loved her very much and she loved him as well. This sickened the already green Hunter. It would've gotten a chuckle out of Stephanie to see his face right then, when he realized just how absent he had been in this girl's life and how easily it was for her to love someone else.

"He was?" Keagan nodded. "What did you say?"

"That I love Chris a lot, which I do, where is he?"

"Right here, you," Chris said, scooping her up into his arms. "You look good, did you have fun with your dad and Shayna?"

"It was okay, she's nice, I like her," Keagan said. "Daddy didn't seem very nice though, I don't want to go back to him, like Ferris doesn't have to go, I want to do that, Mommy, okay, is that okay?"

"Well, for now it's okay and I'm working on forever."

"Okay, I'm going to go play with Ferris now."

"You go do that."

Stephanie was going to make sure that she never had to go back again.


	52. Chapter 52

"Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"

Chris looked down into Stephanie's face. She was lying with her head in his lap, his arm across the top of the couch and her hand up as their fingers intertwined together. She was playing around with his fingers, moving them around, studying her engagement ring in the soft light coming from the television Chris was watching. She was content to just lie there with him and be ensconced in the comfortable silence.

"With what?"

"I was just thinking and I think I'm being unreasonable about the entire Hunter thing," she said, glancing her eyes up so she could meet his blue ones.

"How are you being unreasonable, the guy's being a huge jerk. He deserves whatever he gets."

"See, that's what I'm thinking. I mean, that's what I've _been_ thinking. I've just looked at him as this horrible person and yes, he has been horrible to me and he's especially been horrible to the girls, well, now just Keagan, but both of them really, but he's still her father, you know."

"Uh huh," he said, letting her continue her train of thought. He was starting to get an idea of what she was getting at but wanted her to finish her thought before he gave his input.

"And he needs to be her father. I can't take that right away from him…again," she added, smiling up at him.

Chris laughed, "Well, that was an exception, usually you can't do that."

"Yeah," she said, playing with Chris's hand again. "But you know, he might've been making an effort with having her over for the weekend and I have to recognize that he did make the effort, you know."

"Yeah, I get that."

"He's going to be in her life, or at least he seems to be right now. I don't know if he's going to be forever, but he's taking an interest now and I shouldn't tell Keagan that she won't have to see him again. I mean, I want sole custody of her, for sure, I don't want Hunter having her full-time, but if he wants to spend time with her, I can't just say no and I can't take her away, right?"

"I think that's very reasonable," Chris said. "You've been thinking about this."

"Ever since she came home. I mean, I know he was asking a million questions and I really don't like that, I don't think it's any of his business whether you love Keagan or about our relationship, but he's her father, I can't just say he can't be that anymore."

"That's fair," he said.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that. Plus, I don't want this to drag out," Stephanie said. "The more dragged out it is, the more Keagan is going to feel the effects of it and I don't want her to have to feel stretched thin because of this. Plus, she's alone now, you know, Ferris is your daughter, so it's just Keagan and to go back and forth and have to hear from me how horrible Hunter is and then I'm sure Hunter is less than complimentary about me, it's just too much for her, for any little girl really. I don't want her to be bitter."

"I don't either, she's too sweet."

"Yeah, she is," Stephanie said, thinking about her younger daughter and just wanting her to stay like that forever. She didn't want her to become harsh or bitter because her parents couldn't play nice with one another.

"So what do you want to do about that?" he asked.

"I think I just want to talk to Hunter," she said, looking up to see his reaction. She didn't want him thinking that she wasn't going to fight for her daughter or get back together with Hunter or anything, but Chris was just nodding.

"That's probably a good idea," he told her.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, talking never hurt and I don't want Keagan to go through any of that either. Maybe if you guys talk you can reach a common ground and then you won't have to go to court. If you go to court, I don't know, I just have this feeling it's going to get really ugly and that's just too bad."

"You do understand then," she said in relief. "I was afraid that you would think it was a stupid idea or get mad at me or something."

"Why would I get mad at you?" he wondered. "I think that you're being the better person right now. If he doesn't take you up on this, he's an idiot because if this does go to court, I don't think he's going to have a leg to stand on with his case. You've been a great mother."

"Thanks," she said. "You're the best."

"Well, I'm not going to disagree with that," he told her, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it. "I mean, what's the worst that can happen? He's an even bigger jerk, I don't think that's even possible."

"You have no idea, Chris."

Stephanie sipped at her coffee, checking her watch again. Well this was getting off to a great start, Hunter was already 15 minutes late and hadn't called her to tell her he would be running late. She was now starting to hope he showed up at all. She hadn't actually talked to him on the phone, but she had spoken to Shayna and she said that it would be fine to meet. She figured the woman knew Hunter's schedule and wouldn't be lying to her. Still, he was 15 minutes late and she was starting to think he wasn't going to show up at all out of spite for her.

After another 10 minutes rolled around, Hunter finally came sauntering through the door. He saw her and sat down casually as if he were right on time, "Where've you been?"

"None of your business," Hunter told her.

She rolled her eyes, "I talked with your girlfriend and she said you would be here at four."

"Well I ran a little late," Hunter told her.

"I see that," she said.

"So what the hell did you want? You going to tell me that Keagan isn't mine either?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, that's not it at all, Hunter," she sighed. "I wanted to talk about Keagan though. She told me that you were asking all these questions about Chris and me and all of this stuff when she was with you over the weekend."

"I was just inquiring," Hunter said snidely.

"Fine, inquire all you want," Stephanie said. "Chris and I don't have anything to hide. We're not some wild couple, we're a normal couple who love each other, that's it and if you want to ask, fine, ask. Look, I want you to be in Keagan's life."

"She doesn't."

"Well, she's a little kid, she just says what she thinks is right. It isn't necessarily what she really means. I'm sure she had a fine time with you. Maybe if you spent a little more time with her. I don't know, she said that you didn't really spend time with her."

"She only wanted you and _Chris_."

"Hunter, you're her dad and she loves you. Chris is just around right now. This is what I want to talk to you about."

"I'm not letting him be her father!"

"No, that's not it, God, why don't you just let me finish a sentence for once?" she asked, rubbing her temples. "I want you to be a part of her life. Hunter, this entire custody thing is silly. You know I'm very willing to let you see Keagan any time you want to."

"I want full custody, I thought you understood that."

"Hunter, do you really think they're going to give it to you? You've been gone for a year, you weren't in her life, barely any contact, do you think they're going to look at that favorably over me, who has been there? Plus, my lawyers found out about your arrest, I'm trying to be reasonable here, I'm trying to include you in her life."

Hunter palled a little when he found out Stephanie knew about her arrest, but he didn't want to lose face. "What about Chris?"

"What about him?"

"What secrets is he hiding?"

"None," Stephanie said. "My lawyer ran a background check and there's nothing in Chris's past. The odd parking ticket, but nothing of note. Look, I'm not here to debate you about who's better or who has the better background, I'm just saying that I want this to end, but I don't want Keagan not to have you at the end of it. But you have to promise me that you'll be _in_ her life."

Hunter looked down for a moment. He hated that Stephanie knew about the things he had done in the past. He knew it was going to cast a shadow on himself, but he was hoping to hurt Stephanie with this. Yes, he knew it was petty, but he was a petty man. He couldn't stand that Stephanie was happy and with someone and then to have Ferris taken away from him, he hated that even more. How dare Chris just swoop in and take his life?

"No, I don't like it."

"What? I'm trying to get through this," Stephanie said. "Hunter, I don't want to drag Keagan into court. I don't want her to see us fighting with each other. Don't you get that's what I'm trying to do here. I'm not trying to exclude you, I'm not trying to make Chris her father, I just don't want her to have to go through this."

"Don't you think it's your fault?"

"What?"

"Yes, you heard me."

"How is this my fault?" she asked.

"Oh, I think you know, Stephanie."

"No, I really don't."

"I'm going through with it. Keagan will be fine. Then I'll get her and you won't have her and she won't know Chris's name," Hunter said, "Is that all?"

"Hunter, please," Stephanie said, trying to keep her composure. She really just wanted to wail on him and maybe kick him in the crotch, but she didn't want to lose it on him. It was so tempting though, especially because she was trying to extend the olive branch and he was taking it and shoving it in her gut.

"No, I'm not going to listen to this, I'm doing what I have to do to get my daughter in my life and out of yours."

"Why would you do that? I've never tried to take her out of your life. I called you and called you, begging you to talk to them, to come see them. You never instigated anything except for the odd phone call whenever you felt up to it. I've been there, Hunter, why are you doing this?"

"You're trying to make Chris her father."

"No, I'm not. He's there, I'm not going to lie and he lives with us and it's very easy, but if you spent more time with Keagan, if you did things with her, I think you two could have a great relationship too."

Hunter sucked at his teeth a little, "Fine, I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask. I just want Keagan to be okay and you know her, Hunter, do you really want to lose her within this stupid court system? I don't want to lose my little girl to this."

"I don't want to lose her either," Hunter admitted. "I just…look, I'll think about it and I'll get back to you. Maybe…maybe she can spend a couple nights with me. I think a weekend is too long, she gets really stir-crazy and she misses Ferris."

"I can consent to that," she said eagerly, hoping that this could be a turning point.

"Shayna likes her."

"That's fine, I have no problem with Keagan being around her," Stephanie said, surprising even herself. She didn't expect to just say that, but it was true. She actually didn't find the woman too objectionable. She seemed to be the one who actually cared that Hunter was in Keagan's life.

"Okay," Hunter said, but was a little skeptical. "Well, I guess I'll think about it."

"Thank you."


	53. Chapter 53

"I actually think it's kind of cool of her to offer that."

"Seriously?" Hunter asked, turning to his girlfriend.

Shayna shrugged and thought about what Hunter had just told her. He had been quiet when he got home from his meeting with Stephanie and Shayna had thought it went badly so she didn't press. She had only briefly met Stephanie and she didn't seem like a horrible person, but she really didn't know too much about her beyond what Hunter told her about Stephanie, which was always tinged with the slightest bit of bitterness and anger.

Shayna only ever half-believed what Hunter told her about Stephanie. Shayna knew it was a sensitive situation. She was probably in the wrong sleeping with a married man…okay, she was definitely in the wrong with that one, but she knew that Stephanie had been especially burned so she believed in Stephanie's anger, but she didn't really believe Stephanie was as vindictive as Hunter said. Shayna had just been attracted to Hunter beyond measure and she couldn't help herself when he came on to her one day. She didn't really regret it, but she felt sometimes that she was the real cause of this mess, not a dissolving marriage.

She thought that Stephanie's proposal was extremely reasonable. She admired the woman for putting the past behind her and attempting to let Hunter into his daughter's life. "Yeah, I do. I mean, it's not a bad idea."

"You really think that's not a bad idea?" Hunter asked.

"No, I really don't," she said, looking across the couch at him. "I mean, this way you get to see Keagan, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he relented.

"That's what you want, _right_?" she asked him almost accusingly. She honestly didn't know if Hunter was going about this the right way, but he usually got so defensive about it she didn't ask him, but this was important now.

"Yeah, I want my daughter."

She found that she wasn't relaxing after that statement. "Hunter, you _are_ doing this because you honestly want to be around your daughter, right? This isn't some kind of agenda, is it?"

"What, of course not," he said, but she still wasn't convinced. There was something in his tone that didn't seem genuine. "Did you see her though, when she was with us? Did you see the way she acted around me? It was like she would rather be anywhere else than with me."

"Hunter, baby, she's a little girl, I don't think you're all that appealing to a little girl," she said, trying to make a joke. Hunter's jaw was pretty set though and she reached her hand out and rubbed his strong arm.

"Maybe, but she doesn't seem that way around Chris."

"You've barely seen them together."

"I've seen them enough," he said, his jaw seeming to set even tighter and he was almost just talking through gritted teeth. "I just don't like the idea of him being around my daughter. She's _my_ daughter."

"Well, Stephanie has full custody, but she's offering you a lot, Hunter. I think you need to take it. She said you could have Keagan over and maybe…maybe we could have Ferris over too."

"What? I don't want her over here."

"At least for a bit, it'd make Keagan feel better to have her sister around and maybe Stephanie wouldn't mind so much," she tried to reason. She liked Keagan. Even though she had been shy with them, Shayna could tell that she was usually a boisterous little girl and she wanted to see that little girl and if bringing her sister along could help, she'd want to do that.

"I don't want Ferris here," he shook his head vehemently.

"I know she's not yours…"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it," Hunter said, "and I don't want my kid not around me."

"Stephanie is off--"

"I don't care what she's offering!" he snapped. "What I want is my daughter all the time, away from Stephanie. I want her completely away from her mother, don't you get that?"

Shayna looked a little taken aback by his outburst. She knew Hunter had a temper, but it was never really turned on her. He was usually reserved around her, well, more reserved than he was around other people. She had never had reason to be afraid of him, but he was kind of frightening right now. He just looked so insistent, like he wouldn't budge or even see reason.

"I just don't see why you can't see that this deal is really good for the both of you," Shayna said. "You get Keagan for a little while and she warms up to you again and then you can probably get her for more time and then maybe you can get joint custody."

"That's out of the question, I want full custody."

"Hunter," she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. This was increasingly difficult for her to say, but she had to say it, had to talk about this, because if she didn't, she would just be enabling him and she wasn't the type of person who just sat on her hands. She had sat on her hands in this situation thus far and it bothered her. "I don't think you're going to get full custody of her."

"Excuse me?" he said, his head snapping towards her and his eyes widening slightly. "What did you say?"

"I'm just being honest here, I don't think you'll get her."

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Well, the arrests, which I know you've paid your dues for, but those are going to hurt you, plus, Stephanie's been a good mom, she's--"

"Slept with another man and had his kid!"

"You guys were separated though," Shayna brought up, "weren't you sleeping with someone?"

"That's beside the point, I didn't get her pregnant."

"But you were separated," she pointed out again.

"She lied to me for years about Ferris being mine."

"Except she didn't know and it happens," she said. "We make mistakes. You hurt her, she hurt you, but you don't have to hurt each other anymore. She's giving you your daughter and I think she's being extremely flexible. I mean, we were getting settled in California so you couldn't really be around Keagan, but now you can be around her and Stephanie is willing to let you."

"I can get custody, I'll find something on Chris. He's a goddamn rock star, they always have some skeleton in their closet. He's not good for my daughter."

"You had your lawyers look and he's a model citizen, he does charity work for God's sakes," Shayna said, trying not to sound star-struck, but this was Chris Jericho and he was so famous and so good-looking. Not that any of that mattered here, but she was always reading magazines about how great he was, how he was always donating money and his time to different causes. Any judge, hell, any lawyer would probably be so impressed with him there'd be no case at all.

"I don't care, there must be something. I'm going to find it and she's going to lose custody."

"I'm getting the impression here that you don't really want Keagan, you just want to hurt Stephanie because she's dating Chris Jericho…because they have a daughter together," Shayna told him.

"I'm taking custody."

"Why do you want to hurt her? You hurt her with us? Don't you think she's been through enough? Now she's here and she's trying, Hunter, she's actually trying to be civil and that actually _means_ something to me. She didn't have to be even civil to me, she could've spit in my face and I would've deserved it, but she doesn't. You said she didn't care if her daughter was around me and that means a lot to me. I think this deal is good, I think you should take it."

"Whose side are you on?" he asked suspiciously.

Decision time. "I'm on Keagan's side and what Stephanie said is right. She doesn't need to see the two of you fighting over her. She's a little girl."

"She'll get over it."

"How can you be so blasé about this? She's a little girl, this is definitely going to affect her and probably not in a good way and you're just going to let that happen because you have some sort of vendetta against Chris Jericho?"

"That guy has always been a thorn in my side. Ever since he came into the WWF back in the day, he's always been on my list."

"Why? What did he do?"

"He just didn't have the respect he should have."

"Oh my God, _that's_ what you're basing this hatred on? Are you kidding me with this?" she asked. "I can't believe that you're…that you're going to let this thing get out of hand because you don't like someone."

"It's more than that."

"Not from where I'm sitting," she said, "it looks like you just want to hurt them and I'm not going to be a part of that. I don't want to be an accomplice to you if you're just taking your daughter to spite your ex-wife."

"So you don't think I'm good enough to take care of her?"

"At this point, no, I really don't think so."

She had never been more disgusted with him in her life. When they were having an affair, she was so caught up in him she didn't really see a bad side to him. She knew what they were doing was wrong, but she didn't really care because she really wanted to be with him. But this? Acting vindictive because of some old feud he has with someone? That rubbed her the wrong way.

"Then you can leave."

"What?"

"If you aren't with me, then you can just leave. I don't need you here," he told her, folding his arms. She pulled back a little bit.

"You want me to leave? You want me to just go, you're breaking up with me."

"If you don't see my point then yes, I want you to get the hell out of here and I never want to see you again," he told her and it seemed like he didn't even have a bit of remorse in his voice. After everything, he was just going to drop her like she was nothing.

She thought back to their affair. He had seemingly just left Stephanie like it was nothing. It was a bitter divorce, but he had seemed so happy to just drop her. Maybe them going to California was really him getting away from his daughters because he simply didn't want to be there. He was selfish, that was just who he was. He was selfish and she was really seeing it for the first time. He had dropped Stephanie like she was nothing and now he was doing the same with her. She had outlived her usefulness and now he wanted to drop her.

"So that's it?"

"I guess so."

"You're being a jerk right now."

"You're a bitch, you're siding with my enemy. You want her to have my kid."

"No, I pretty much said to take her deal because it's reasonable and you wouldn't have to go to court, but you know what, you're not going to get that little girl, you won't, face it, Hunter, they're not going to let you have full custody, the sooner you realize that the easier it's going to be."

"Get out."

"Fine," she said. "Fine, I'm leaving."

She went up to the bedroom and grabbed a suitcase, throwing it on the bed. She started throwing her clothes in, not even caring if they were folded. She was getting out of her as quickly as she could. She had lost a lot of the attraction she had for Hunter in the span of this conversation. She had overlooked a lot of things with him, but no longer. She saw him for what he really was and it wasn't a pretty sight.

And if she had to, she'd testify against him.


	54. Chapter 54

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone, please keep them coming. :)

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Stephanie hung up the phone slowly, looking down at the now off phone sitting in its cradle. She stared at it for a few moments as if she expected the object to turn into a flock of butterflies. It didn't though, it just stayed the same gray phone it had been a few moments before. She shook her head a little thinking about the conversation she'd just had and then she scoffed to herself in disbelief. She couldn't possibly figure out why Shayna would want to meet with her, but it sounded intriguing.

"Hey, I got the girls off to bed, who was on the phone?" Chris asked as he walked into the kitchen. He gave her a peck on the cheek as he brushed by her on his way to the refrigerator and a glass of juice.

"That was Shayna," Stephanie answered.

"Shayna, you mean Hunter's Shayna?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, one in the same," Stephanie said. "She told me she wanted to meet with me tomorrow over coffee. She invited me to go get _coffee_ with her."

"Are you okay with that?" Chris asked.

Stephanie sat down on one of the stools in front of her. "I really don't know. I mean, it's one thing to see her, you know, be around her, but it's an entirely different thing to go out with her for the sole purpose of talking. I talked to her because I had to…not because I wanted to."

"So you told her you'd meet with her then, that's what I'm sensing here."

"Well, it could have something to do with Keagan. Maybe Hunter is making her be his liaison in this and I think if it involves Keagan I need to suck it up, it doesn't mean I'm happy though, I'm certainly not happy about this."

Chris came over, set his glass down next to her and stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders and getting all the knots out of her tense skin. "It'll be okay," he told her. "It's probably what you said. Maybe Hunter has come to his senses and he's ready to talk about the deal you've offered."

"But then why is he sending her?"

"I don't know, like you said, a liaison at first."

"I just don't know if I can sit there and look at her. I mean, she's the reason that I divorced my husband. I haven't really talked to her, not really, truly talked to her. What if she wants to talk about what happened between the three of us?"

"Well, you don't have to talk about that," Chris said, "you can just tell her it's in the past and you're over it, because you are over it, right?"

"Yeah, I'm over it," she reassured him, tilting her head back so he could see her eyes and be assured that this had nothing to do with her having feelings for Hunter still, but more for the reason that he was going to have to meet with someone who had done her a great wrong.

"Okay, well, then you can decline talking about it."

"I just wish I knew what she wanted to talk about. I asked her, but she was intentionally vague. Oh God, what if Hunter wants to go through with this custody battle. I just don't want Keagan to go through this. She loves Hunter and I don't want her to see the turmoil and anger that's going to inevitably come into play here."

"I don't think you'd let it touch her."

"I wouldn't, but I don't know about Hunter. I can absolutely see him treating us like crap just so he can get to Keagan."

"Well, then _I_ will handle that part." He kissed the top of her head and then wrapped his arms around her shoulder, resting his chin on the crown of her head. Stephanie closed her eyes and reached up to grasp his arms with her hands, letting them rest there for a moment.

"I love you," she told him, turning her head to kiss his forearm.

"I love you too," he said simply.

She knew that if Chris weren't in the picture, the chances were high that Hunter would not be pursuing this custody battle. Hell, he might still have not seen the girls since the divorce if Chris wasn't in the picture. That wasn't the point though. She loved Chris and wanted to be with him and was incredibly happy with him. She wouldn't trade him for the world and if Hunter wanted to fight with her, then she would fight back. She was just glad for the support. Chris was her partner in this and it was a good obstacle to face together, to see the strength of their relationship right in front of them.

They were strong and she didn't worry about the two of them getting through this. They were a family now, as sure as she could be about the word family. She leaned back against his solid chest, nestling herself against him. He held her tighter and his presence permeated her own presence. She liked the closeness between the two of them. He was all the comfort she needed when things got especially tough.

She only wished he could've been there the next day. Chris had been at Titan working out his schedule with Vince so he couldn't come with her. She wasn't sure she even wanted him there. This felt like something she'd have to do alone. She walked into the coffee shop they had agreed upon and she looked around. It looked like Shayna hadn't arrived yet, but she knew she was early so she wasn't worried about this being some sort of trick.

Stephanie went and ordered herself a coffee. Normally she might get something sugary and topped with tons of whipped cream, but not today. Today called for something more serious. She ordered just a regular black coffee and put a couple sugars in it to curb the bitterness of the coffee. She found a table near the back, a little isolated, but still not far enough away to be scary or intimidating.

Shayne walked in about ten minutes after Stephanie had sat down. She looked around and spotted Stephanie, coming over to the table. Stephanie didn't know if she should stand up or sit down or what. She almost did a half-stand, lifting her butt out of the chair, but she wasn't a guy so why should she? Instead, she gave a half-hearted smile, which probably came off more like a grimace than anything else.

"Hey," Shayna said, awkwardly sticking her hand out like she wanted to shake it. Stephanie looked at it for a moment, wondering what she was doing exactly and then she realized Shayna wanted to shake her hand. Stephanie gave it a shake, firm, letting the other woman know she meant business. She would've been highly satisfied if Shayna had pulled away shaking her hand in pain, but she didn't.

"Hi," Stephanie returned. "I kind of already got a cup of coffee if you wanted to get one."

"Oh yeah, I did," she said. "I guess I'll be right back then."

"Okay," Stephanie nodded.

She watched Shayna as she went over to the line to get her coffee. She ended up sizing up Hunter's mistress even though this was not what she'd come here to do. Now that they were around each other for more than five minutes, it was high time Stephanie took a really good look at the inventory. Except there wasn't much to take in. Shayna looked haggard and much older than she probably was. She had a ballpark figure of Shayna's age, but she didn't recall what that age was. She was dressed neatly, but plainly. When Stephanie first met her, she expected cleavage right in her face and mini-skirts, but right now she was just wearing a pair of old, faded jeans and a t-shirt, nothing special.

Once she'd gotten her coffee, she walked over and sat across from Stephanie. Shayna had gotten one of those ooey, gooey coffees. "So what did you need?" Stephanie said, barely even letting the woman take a sip of her coffee.

Shayna took the sip anyways, her eyes trained to the table in front of her. There was a coffee ring just to the left of where she had set her coffee down. She studied it like it was one of those Rorschach ink blot tests, a hidden meaning within the way the coffee dried. She sighed and looked up at the other woman, who was looking at her quizzically and it must've been so odd for Stephanie to receive her phone call last night. If the roles were reversed, she would've felt the same way.

"I just…I needed to talk to you about this entire custody thing."

"Look, if you're here to try and bargain for Hunter--"

"That's not what this is about, trust me, that's the last thing this is about."

"Okay, so what _is_ it about then?" Stephanie asked.

"Hunter and I broke up last night," Shayna said and Stephanie only now noticed how empty her eyes seemed to be. She recognized the look on Shayna's face, it was one she had worn, except much worse.

"Oh," Stephanie said for lack of a better response.

"Yeah, we had a huge argument and basically told me to leave and that he never wanted to see me again."

"I'm sorry," Stephanie said, trying hard to be sympathetic for someone who had broken up her own marriage.

"You don't have to pretend like you're broken up about this," Shayna told her. "I know that you're not and I know that I played an integral role in why you're going through this right now. I know you haven't forgiven me for what I've done and I want you to know I haven't forgiven me either. I made a mistake and I thought that maybe the mistake could be okay because I did love Hunter…but he doesn't return the feelings and I'm starting to think I was really just a body to pass the time with."

"That can happen with him."

"I guess," she said bitterly. "Anyways, yes, we had an argument and I know under normal circumstances you would not want to know what this was about, but this pertains to you."

"It does?" Flashes of fear passed in her mind. What if Hunter wanted her back? What if he was going to try and break her and Chris up with _false_ declarations of love for her? She didn't think she could handle that because she might end up punching him in the face.

"I thought he should take your offer. It sounded extremely reasonable and a very nice compromise. He didn't want to hear of it. He wanted full custody, all of it and I thought he was being incredibly petty and we fought over it."

"Wow," Stephanie breathed. She hadn't expected this woman to take her side. It didn't exactly change her opinion of Shayna, but at least it gave her a clearer picture of who this woman was.

"He hated that, just hated it and the more I pressed, the madder he got until it just kind of erupted and he told me to leave. It didn't matter at that point, I'd pretty much lost all of my respect for him as it was, but it still stung."

"I understand," Stephanie said. It had stung with her as well.

"Anyways, I thought your offer was very reasonable and that he should take it. I thought you were being very generous and looking at Hunter as I can look at him, I don't think he has a whisper's chance of getting Keagan. She's really very wonderful, Stephanie, and I'm glad I got to meet her. You're extremely lucky, she's wonderful, which is why you should have her, not him, I don't' think he'll win at all."

"Thanks, I appreciate you saying that."

"Yes, and…if need be, I'm willing to testify against him."

Stephanie's mouth dropped open just the tiniest bit. "Are you serious?"

"I'm absolutely serious," Shayna told her. "I don't think Hunter is fit to raise her, especially if it's by himself and I'm willing to say that."

"You would do that?"

"Look, you may think I don't have morals or scruples, but this is a kid, I'm not going to let a kid down like that. I want her to be safe and I think she'd be better off with you, that's the honest truth."

"Thank you," Stephanie said sincerely.

"And I apologize with everything in me about what happened. I should've known better, I should've…I just should've been an adult about this situation, I just…I should've been an adult."

"Thank you for being willing to help me. I appreciate that more than you'll ever know."

"It's the least I can do, really," Shayna said, "after the way I've behaved. Hunter is not good for her. He's just not and I don't want him…I made a huge mistake."

"Well, if you help us, I think that would be a really big step towards me keeping custody."

"Then I'm completely yours."


	55. Chapter 55

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I love them! :D Hope you enjoy this update and like I said in the other update, I got myself a Twitter account (under DCFanatic4life) so you can check out what I'm doing over there, although I'm very boring so there's not much to see. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, I hope! :D

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Stephanie was still a little shell-shocked from her conversation with Shayna. The two women had talked a little while longer after Shayna had told her she would be a character witness for them. It had turned out, rather surprisingly, that Shayna was actually not the whore Stephanie had really, really wanted her to believe. Once they got past the Hunter thing (which was hard to get past even now) Stephanie found that Shayna really was a decent person who'd gotten caught up with a married man and fallen in love with him.

It was hard to begrudge someone who just fell in love. Stephanie wanted to, but she was getting to the point in her life where she believed that she and Hunter were just not this idea of "meant to be" and never really would've worked out in the long run. Besides, everything that happened led her up to Chris and she wouldn't trade that for the world. She'd given up on the idea of soulmates, but she could imagine growing old with Chris and that was such a pleasant thought.

She walked in the house and Chris had obviously been waiting for her because he showed up not a minute later, rushing into the hallway. "Hey, you were gone for a while," he told her.

"Oh, was I?" Stephanie asked, looking at her watch and she had been gone for longer than she'd anticipated. "I guess I got caught up."

"Did he take the deal?" Chris asked eagerly. He wanted this ordeal to be over with. He knew there was no chance Hunter was going to ever be completely gone from their lives. He loved Keagan more than he knew, but Hunter _was_ her father and he was not going to deny him that opportunity, no matter how much he wanted to snatch up Keagan and adopt her and make her his. He just wanted to live without knowing there was this huge custody battle looming over their heads.

"No, he didn't, he's going to go through with the custody battle as far as I know," Stephanie told her fiancé.

"Bastard," Chris muttered. He couldn't believe the childish behavior Hunter was exhibiting nowadays. Sure, there had been no love lost between them, but to stoop this low for a years-old grudge. There were times to hold grudges, but there were also times where people needed to step back, assess the situation, and then act like an adult. Chris was trying to act like an adult, but Hunter wanted to drag them all back to childishness.

Chris couldn't change the past, he couldn't go back and make better choices. Ferris was his daughter and he loved her and she loved him and yes, it must have come to a shock to Hunter and he _knew_ that after going many years thinking this girl was his daughter to suddenly find out she wasn't had to be a terrible, terrible thing, but to act like he was, to try and tear a little girl from her mother. How could anything, _anyone_ justify that?

"How could he not take it? We're offering him so much more than he deserves." Chris would love it if Hunter would be an actual father to Keagan. She was a good girl and deserved a wonderful father in her life. They'd never wanted to deny Hunter his basic rights, but Hunter wanted all the rights and for Stephanie to have none of them.

"I don't know, he just…he wants to hurt us," Stephanie shrugged. "He does that to people, he wants to hurt them when they don't give him what he wants."

"He's the lowest kind of scum. I don't know what that is, but he's it."

"Yeah, but that's not what this was about. It wasn't what Shayna wanted to talk about," Stephanie said, lifting her head to look into Chris's inquisitive blue eyes. Beyond that inquisitiveness, she could still see the anger brewing and settling and she wanted that out of his eyes. She raised her hands, cool from the outside air and placed them on his hot cheeks, cooling them and making the redness of anger disappear, like she was transferring the anger from his cheeks to her hands and ridding him of it, a healer.

Chris closed his eyes a moment. Her hands were so cool and yet so warm on his face and his heart was beating faster just from the contact. Would there ever be a moment where his heart wouldn't beat faster whenever she was near? He hoped not because this feel was so heady and a rush of feeling and emotion up to his cheek. Where once resided anger, there was only adoration for this woman and he often wondered how he had survived years without her touch and kiss and _love_, most of all love. There had been plenty of other women, but no amount of squinting could make any of them _her_.

"What did she want to talk about?" he asked calmly, opening up his eyes and seeing the eyes he'd wanted to see for so long. He counted his blessings everyday for the things he'd been given. It was like he had built up enough karma for two lifetimes and was being so richly rewarded and he wished he could go back in time and have someone outline what he'd done to be able to actually get all of this in his real, waking life.

"She and Hunter broke up," Stephanie said plainly. "Last night, they fought and they broke up, well, he told her to leave and she wasn't going to object to that because she was pissed at him too so they're not together anymore."

"Are you serious?"

He knew Stephanie loved him, that was not in doubt, but there was this kernel of fear. It was so small it wouldn't even fit in his tiniest cell, but he could feel it there and he didn't want to water it for fear that it would grow and overwhelm him, but that teeny-tiny part of him, that infinitesimal dot was crackling, wondering if maybe, just maybe, now that Hunter was free and unattached, that some part of Stephanie, maybe even smaller than the kernel that was asking these questions, making his mind sputter and turn and go places he didn't want to go.

"Yeah, she said that she's done with him and she was sorry that she broke up my marriage to him and everything, it was pretty wild," Stephanie said, unaware to the turmoil that was festering in Chris's mind.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I guess when someone breaks up with you and leaves you and cheats on you, I don't know, maybe I'm the only one that really thinks this, but it's like, I want them to _stay_ with that other person, marry them, live their lives with them forever because then it's like, well, they were looking for their one person and that person was found and it just happened to be when I was with him, so I guess it just eases that pain a little, very little."

"That makes sense," Chris said and it did. "You just don't want what you had to have ended in vain for stupid reasons that didn't last."

"Exactly," she told him, "see you get me."

Her smile was wilting that kernel, starting to make it turn inside itself, but he had to ask, he had to know. "Now that he's free…I mean, you know…he's free."

"Yeah, he's free," she said. Then she added, "To go terrorize the other women of the world, I'm sure. Thank God I'm away from him for good."

The kernel was gone and he grinned at her, taking her hands off his face and leaning down to kiss her. "I'll make sure he doesn't terrorize you, I promise."

"You're good at making those," she said, but then remembered herself, "but that's not the news!"

"Wait, so all of this was just the lead up to the big news?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, her eyes dancing with excitement, her pupils resizing themselves. "There's much bigger, much better news."

"I'm listening," he told her, staring and studying her eyes so much that she almost started to feel uncomfortable under his close scrutiny. She often did feel uncomfortable when he would study her like that, like a painting whose swirls and curves were hard to distinguish and needed close inspection. She was hardly a work of art.

"She'll testify against him," she said with a deep breath and he watched as that deep breath turned to a deeper smile, one that reached every part of her, flushing her face in happiness and warmth.

"She'll testify?"

"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "She doesn't think that he would be a good single parent to Keagan and she doesn't really even think he's in this for Keagan at all, but more for revenge because I finally managed to move on with someone I love. That's what they were arguing about."

"What were they arguing about exactly?"

"Well, it's not like she gave me the play-by-play or anything, but the gist of it was that she thought the deal we proposed was more than fair and thought that Hunter should take it because it would allow him time with Keagan and that's supposedly what he wants, right. Anyways," she continued, not letting him get a word in, "he didn't want that, he wants full custody and she started calling him out, telling him he wasn't in this for Keagan at all and he got pissed and that's what led to them breaking up."

"Wow," Chris said, pretty speechless. He'd never talked to Shayna properly, but she seemed the type to just go along with what was said, do as Hunter wanted, but it turned out she had a brain after all. One she used even!

"Yes, so she doesn't want him to have Keagan. She doesn't think it's right what he's doing and if it were for Keagan and Keagan only he would see that the deal we offered was great and gave him and Keagan time together."

"So she'll testify."

"Uh huh, she could be a key character witness for us. If someone who has lived with him and been with him and took part in the destruction of his marriage will speak out against him having Keagan, I mean, how do you think that would look to the judge?" Stephanie asked, her voice hitching at the end.

"It would not look good," Chris said, "It wouldn't look good at all."

"I agree," Stephanie said. "We're going to keep her."

Meanwhile, in another state, Hunter was sitting with his mother. He was stewing, she could tell. She hadn't raised this man not knowing his moods. She'd made him a cup of tea, but he'd had yet to even touch it. He was staring at it though, just staring at it, like he could make it hotter with the blazing fire of his eyes. He'd shown up the night before and hadn't spoken a word, just going through the motions and it didn't take a second glance to know something was wrong.

"Hunter, talk to me," his mother said. She may not agree with his decision to abandon his…daughter now (she'd read the article and talked to Stephanie, who apologized so profusely Pat had to be the one to comfort _her_), but Hunter was still her son.

"She left me."

"Who? Shayna?"

"Yes, Shayna," he said hoarsely.

"But…I thought you two were doing well. What happened?" she asked.

"I'm suing Stephanie for full custody of Keagan."

"You're…what?" Pat asked, wondering if she had heard correctly. Full custody?

"I don't want Chris around my daughter, I don't want him around her at all. He already took one daughter from me and he's not taking another so I'm suing for full custody and Stephanie thought she was doing me a _favor_ by giving me some idiot 'offer' and Shayna thought I should take it."

"What offer?"

"Visitation or some bullshit like that," Hunter said. "Visits and whatever."

"That sounds reasonable."

"It's not!" he raged. "She's _my_ daughter and she is going to come home with me."

"Hunter, I'm not sure I like this tone," she said calmly.

"I don't care, I'm not letting him take my daughter. He's not going to take her. He already took my wife and one of my daughters!"

"She's not your wife, Hunter. You left her."

"I don't care, she was mine first!" he cried petulantly and Pat had never quite seen her son so…disturbingly childish.

"Hunter, stop this now."

"No, Mom, I'm not stopping until Keagan is mine and away from that asshole!"

"Has he really done anything wrong?"

"He's taken away everything that's _mine_!"

"Hunter…"

"No, she's mine and I'm taking her back!"


	56. Chapter 56

A/N: Thanks for the reviews for this story, glad you're all still liking it and I hope you all like this chapter too. Reviews, as always, are appreciated. :)

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Hunter didn't understand why no one in his life understood him.

First there had been Shayna and it wasn't like he expect her to really get what he was about. She was a dim bulb and she wouldn't understand what he was going through. She had just been the woman in his life, she didn't know anything about anything. But his mother? He had expected her to understand where he was coming from. He'd expected her to support him and tell him that what he was doing was right. Wasn't that what mothers were for? But no, she had been against him too.

Well, he didn't need any of them. He could do this by himself and he would get Keagan by himself. It didn't matter what any of them thought, really. He wanted his daughter and he was going to get her. Chris was a bad influence and more than that, he had honed in on his territory. Chris had always been a little opportunist and it seemed he was no different now. He'd seen Stephanie single and surely he'd just swooped in and taken her because he knew that it would piss Hunter off.

Well, it did. Chris wasn't even that great. Oh yeah, sure, he had the international fame or whatever, but he probably piggy-backed his way to that too. He'd heard some of his music and it sucked, just like Chris himself. What kind of game was he playing here, trying to take over his position. Then to be revealed as Ferris's real father. It was like he was rubbing it in Hunter's face and Hunter was fed up with it so he was going to take something that Chris cared about. He didn't care who he hurt, just so long as it hurt Chris Jericho.

But why did it have to end there, he thought to himself, why did it _just_ have to be Keagan? As Hunter turned the corner on his walk, a new, better plan formed inside his head. He and Stephanie had been married for a number of years, he couldn't be pressed to think of how many it had been, he couldn't remember, it was more than five though, or at least he thought so, how old was Ferris anyways? Who cared, she wasn't even his kid so he didn't care what the hell happened to her anymore? She was just as low as Chris was anyways, since they shared the same blood. But yes, he and Stephanie had been married for years and she'd been devastated when he'd found out he was leaving her. Maybe he could use that devastation to his advantage.

Surely Stephanie still had feelings for him, of course she did, she'd loved him and she probably still did love him. Chris was probably just some sort of prolonged rebound. If he took her back, if he went to her and asked for his forgiveness (he'd have to remember to act really remorseful) she'd definitely take him back. She was probably praying for it now if she'd heard that about his breakup with Shayna. She was probably thinking about how much of a dream it would be if he came back to her and wanted her back. And if he wanted her back, she would come back...

She would leave Chris Jericho...

She'd bring Keagan with her...

Chris would lose what he loved...

And that made Hunter very, very happy.

Stephanie wiped her hands on the dish towel after she washed her hands quickly. She'd been marinating some chicken for dinner and the phone had started to ring. Once they were dry enough, she reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Stephanie?"

"Hunter?" Stephanie said though she recognized the voice.

"Hey, I know that we've been kind of at odds lately, but I was hoping that we could get together and discuss the custody situation."

Stephanie was surprised. Was this Hunter actually acting like an adult and wanting to talk about what to do about the custody without dragging the courts into it? If that was the case, she was all for it, but she had to make sure. "What about it?"

"Well, I've been thinking, you know about the situation and I think that we could work something out with it," Hunter explained, and his working something out would be having Stephanie back in his life. He could manage it. He'd just have to be more careful about who he slept with from now on, make sure they kept their mouth shut and had a place close by so he wouldn't have to bring them to his place. He and Stephanie should definitely get their own place, he didn't want to be anywhere Chris had been, best to start over.

"Really?" she asked in wonder. This was unexpected to say the least.

"Yeah, I realize how I've been acting and I think I know why I was acting the way I was and I'd like to talk to you about it," he said calmly. "That is if you're willing to talk to me, I really hope you are. I just...I've been acting stupid."

"Wow," she said, this was like night and day. He'd been so mean and abrasive last time they talked and now he was being a civil adult. She wondered what had gotten into him. "Yeah, sure, we can talk."

"Are you free tomorrow for lunch?" he said, figuring that a meal would be the best place to do it. That way he could show that he was serious and it was something he'd thought out.

"I can take a long lunch, that'd be fine," Stephanie said.

"Great, I'll come meet you at Titan then?"

"Yeah, sure, you know where the office is."

"That I do," he said, chuckling slightly, "been there a lot. So I'll just come down and get you and we can head to lunch and see if we can't work something out."

"I'll see you then."

"Yes, you will, bye, Hunter."

"Bye."

Stephanie hung up the phone and looked at it. That was just remarkable. Not that she was complaining. She was very willing to be flexible with Keagan. If Hunter moved back to the area, she wouldn't even mind letting him have weekends with her or even a few days during the week, granted it couldn't interfere with school, but she was very willing to work this out so everyone could be happy with the arrangement. She was just happy that Hunter had finally been willing to compromise with her on this one and try and work it out on their own rather than just go straight to the lawyer's.

"Hey," Chris said, coming into the kitchen and grabbing an apple. "You picking up the girls from school today?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

"Okay, cool," he said, biting into his apple. "I was working on some melodies just for fun, see if I can get some stuff together for another album or a solo thing, I came up with some great ones, you should come up and hear them if you're done with the chicken."

"I'd like that," she told him. She did love hearing him play. "Hunter just called."

"What did he want this time? Was he yelling at you for not marinating the chicken early enough?"

Stephanie laughed. "No, he wants to talk about the custody. It seems he's come around and he wants to discuss it and work it out between the two of us and not bring the courts into it. I'm going to go ahead and guess this means that he's going to drop the case for full custody."

"That's awesome!" Chris exclaimed, hugging her. "This is what you've wanted since the beginning."

She hugged him back and kissed his cheek as she pulled away. "I know, I'm going to go in with an open mind. I think we can definitely work something out we'll both like. Hopefully he can move close enough so that she can see him when she wants to and he can see her when he wants to. I really think he's being an adult, finally, right?"

"Yeah, I'm happy. This is awesome, I'm glad we won't have to go through the whole court system, that would've just been a waste of time and money if the two of you can work everything out yourselves."

"I know, I'm so relieved," she said, "so I'm done with this, I want to hear your songs."

"Now remember, they're still in early development."

"Okay...are they about me?"

"One or two, see if you can guess which ones."

Stephanie walked into work confident the next day. She and Hunter were going to work things out and she had a bounce in her step. Chris had noted it this morning over breakfast and she'd just laughed. Work was a breeze today, but she kept looking at the clock, wanting it to be lunchtime already so she could meet Hunter and talk. That was strange. She hadn't wanted to see Hunter in such a long time that anticipating his arrival was like a foreign feeling to her brain.

Finally, Hunter came into her office and she actually smiled at him! The drive was mostly silent and then they were at the restaurant and he pulled the chair out for her. She just stared at him, wondering what the hell had come over him as he sat across from her. They kept to themselves until they ordered and then it seemed they were finally going to get down to the business at hand, the business that she really wanted to discuss and thens he could go home and tell Chris and they could have a celebration dinner and then a celebration evening after the girls went to bed.

"So, Keagan..." Stephanie started.

"Yeah, look, I've been going about this all wrong. I'm really sorry for how I've been treating you," Hunter said, acting remorseful. "I just, it took me a while to realize what I was doing, why I was acting the way I was and I apologize for the way I was acting, it was really...I was being a jerk."

"I know."

He laughed, "Well, at least you know. But I realized something yesterday, realized why I was...why I was acting like that."

"Because you love Keagan?"

"Because I love you," Hunter told her, looking up into her dark blue eyes.

Stephanie's head jerked back as she looked at him, "Excuse me?"

"I love you, Steph," he said, shaking his head. "I'm so angry because you're with Chris and seeing you with him, seeing you be with him, having Ferris with him, it's killing me. You're supposed to be with me, Steph, you're supposed to be with me and I love you and I've been so stupid. Shayna, she was a mistake, a very long mistake. She's gone now, I don't want her anymore, I want you. I need you. I want our life back, Steph."

"What are you doing?" Stephanie said.

"I'm asking you to take me back," he explained, grabbing her hand over the table. Might as well try to be affectionate. Stephanie was so shell-shocked that she didn't move her hand, which Hunter took as a good sign. She was being receptive.

"Take you back to what?"

"Take me back as your husband. Stephanie, I know it's still there between us and leaving you was the worst decision I've ever made in my life. I regret it so much and I regret being with Shayna and I want to make it work again."

"You want to be with me?"

"Yeah, I love you, Steph, please take me back, I'm so sorry, please."

"What are you doing, Hunter? You know I'm engaged!"

"You guys aren't married yet. We have history, Steph, we were married and we have Keagan together and we can be happy again. Remember when we would take those short little vacations in the middle of the week?"

"You mean when you admitted that you liked taking us places where college girls vacationed so you could screw them while I was with the girls?" she said.

He cleared his throat, "I've changed. I'm a one-woman guy now. I wouldn't cheat on you again. This way we could be happy again. You and me and Keagan, we can be a family."

"And Ferris?" Stephanie said.

"Well, she's Chris's daughter, I figured she'd want to be with him and vice versa."

"So you'd want to leave her out in the cold because she's not your daughter."

"She can come too."

"Oh, of course, of course," Stephanie said. She pulled her hand away and leaned her chin on it as she put her elbow on the table. "So you love me and you want to be with me and you want me to take you back?"

"Stephanie, I know you still love me. You do, I know it. I remember from when we broke up, how upset you were. Steph, I know you want this."

"So tell me this, Hunter? How much of this little thing here is because you don't like Chris?" she wondered, staring at him with a smirk.

"Stephanie, this has nothing to do with Chris and everything to do with us," he lied. Oh how he lied.

"Yeah, right, if you'll excuse me, I've lost my appetite."

She got up and left.


	57. Chapter 57

A/N: Once again, thank you so much for the reviews of this story. I'm not even really sure where it's truly headed so I'm kind of on the journey with you guys. I hope you like this latest part, not sure if you will, but I hope you will, I liked writing it. If you want, leave a review, they are awesome and I really, really appreciate them! :D

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Her intent was to storm out of there and make a point. Her second intent was to go straight to her lawyers and ask if this could be used at incriminating evidence against her ex-husband. She couldn't believe the nerve of that man. What kind of man had she married? How had he gone so far down the rabbit hole? Did he think she was that stupid to fall for this? Did he think she'd just give in, throw herself at her feet like Eliza Doolittle had done for Henry Higgins? She wasn't going to come back and certainly wasn't going to fetch him his slippers.

Hunter was determined though, that much was very clear. He wasn't going to go out like this. He just _had_ to make Stephanie believe that he was the good guy that he used to be (okay, he was never _really_ a good guy, but he could pretend, he was pretending that he honestly wanted to be back with her, wasn't he?). She was just afraid that he was going to be like he was before and while he probably would be (unless she'd done something drastic to the way she had sex he wasn't going to change much) he wouldn't let her see that part of him like he'd let slip before. That slip before was what caused Chris to father her first child.

Still, he couldn't let her just leave like this, without hearing his side of the story and boy, was he going to give her a story. He was going to give her such a story she might end up sobbing in his arms and begging him to take her back. If it came down to begging, he wouldn't, but he could certainly act contrite and like he really was a changed man now. He'd even take on Ferris if he _absolutely_ had to, he just wouldn't be her dad because apparently she had another one that could take care of her just fine, but if Ferris did end up with Chris, that would be for the best so he wouldn't have to look at her and think about how she wasn't his daughter.

He threw some bills on the table, enough to cover whatever it is they'd gotten, and he headed out of the place. Stephanie was turning to walk down to the parking lot and he hightailed it after her, grabbing her by the arm, "Stephanie, please, please just hear me out."

"Get away from me," Stephanie said, "and let go of me." She pulled her arm away from him and started walking again.

She was fast so Hunter had to jog to get in front of her, stopping her in her path. He put his arms on her shoulders to stop her forward progress. She wrenched herself out of her grasp and tried to move to the right to get away from him, but he stepped in front of her. She scowled and then moved to the left to try the other way, but again, he stepped in front of her. She then tried to fake him out by doing a double move and trying to get past him that way, but he grabbed her just as she was making her way around him. She took a step back, out of his grasp, and glowered at him.

"Get out of my way," she told him.

"Not until you hear me out," Hunter said.

"I heard you out in there," she said, "and you're a huge liar. I don't want to hear your crap, okay? I don't want to hear what you have to say because you're a liar and you are an asshole on top of being a liar."

"No, you've got it all wrong, Steph," he said, trying to look like he was really sorry. He obviously couldn't see his own face so he hoped it looked sorry. "This isn't about Chris at all, it's about us."

"Oh yeah, really? Is that why you've _suddenly_ decided that you want sole custody of Keagan? Is that why you've completely shunned Ferris even though for many years she has thought herself your daughter. It doesn't matter if she isn't, the transition could've been a little easier if you hadn't completely phased her out."

He tried not to get mad at her, "She's not my daughter."

"I know that, she knows that, but she loved you and you completely turned your back on her! What happened wasn't her fault, Hunter. It was my fault, it was your fault, it was even partially Chris's fault, but none of it was her fault and yet you saw fit to punish her. Whatever happens, she is still my daughter and the way you treated her, I will never forgive you for that."

"I'm changed, Stephanie, I promise."

"So you've changed in the matter of days?"

"I've been thinking, ever since Shayna left me, I've just been thinking."

"So what did happen with you and Shayna?" Stephanie asked. Stephanie had heard it from the woman herself and while she knew, without a doubt, that Hunter was lying through his teeth right now and obviously "wanted" her as some sort of backwards revenge against Chris. There was just something so wrong about Hunter's obviously jealousy of Chris. It was silly and childish of Hunter to harbor such unnecessary jealousy for someone. She was glad Chris wasn't like that.

"I sent her away," Hunter said. "I was thinking and thinking about you and Keagan and about how we were so good together and I told her that I just didn't want to be with her anymore. She was pretty devastated about it, but I knew what I wanted. I want you and I want our life back, I was so stupid to end it like I did."

"You mean by sleeping with her behind my back and then getting caught…"

"I just…I don't know, I guess I was scared of how much I loved you."

Stephanie was so close to just bursting out in laughter. Though she didn't know Shayna that well and she had been a part of the deception that led to her divorce, she was more inclined to take her word over Hunter's, someone who proved that lying was an art form. She found everything he said so incredulous. She could just picture what he'd do if she did take him back. He'd pretend to be interested in her and only her and then whenever her back was turned, he'd go find some other girl to screw around with and she'd be left in the dust _again_. She wasn't about to fall for his lies, not when she had someone like Chris, someone who was really there for her and someone who she could trust not to go around and screw everything in a skirt.

"How much you loved me, huh?"

"Yeah, you're just, you're so out of my league and I guess that finally caught up with me so I tried to push you away. Shayna, she's much, well, that is to say, she's a slut and she took advantage of the fact that I was vulnerable."

"Wow, what a horrible person," Stephanie said, shaking her head. Granted, this was the woman who was willing to testify in her favor for her daughter so she felt a sort of camaraderie with her right now. Plus, they'd both been spurned by Hunter, the greatest of all liars; he should really get a medal for that.

"I know, but Stephanie, this here, what we have? It's something really timeless," Hunter told her. "We could really have what we've always wanted together. Remember, we wanted to build a life, we talked about it."

"We did build it, you broke it," she told him. She could remember the nights, though they were a bit hazy now, where they would sit on the balcony of whatever hotel they were staying at and just think about what the future would hold. He was probably screwing around with someone even then and she'd just been too stupid to notice it. Maybe he even snuck out while she was sleeping to go bang someone. She shouldn't known he was a slime, why did she even get involved with him in the first place?

"I didn't mean to, I was just scared, you have to believe me, Steph."

"Even if I did believe you, which I don't, I'm engaged," she said, holding up her left hand, showing off her ring, which was beautiful and you know, she loved the way it was catching in the light. She admired it for a moment before remembering herself. "I'm engaged to a great guy who is the father of my daughter."

"I'm _also_ the father of your daughter," Hunter argued. "You haven't even been with him that long, why are you marrying him when you haven't even been with him? You don't know him like you know me."

"Oh, I do, and I do know you as well, know that you're a lying, cheating scum."

"I _was_ a lying, cheating scum, but I'm not like that anymore. I'm not that guy anymore, I promise you."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I can prove it to you, let me prove it to you," he said, touching her shoulder. "Stephanie, remember how it used to be, remember how good it was? Just think back to that, just think back."

He was getting her, he could tell, she was looking off nostalgically. He just had to keep this up and Chris would get what was coming to him. She would come back to him and leave Chris with nothing and then he could lord it over Chris's head. Stephanie was his first and she was going to stay his. He hoped that every tabloid under the sun caught this story, hoped that they all made Chris feel like a humiliated, dumped mess of a man. He inwardly smirked at that image. How he wanted to make that happen.

"Are you thinking?" he asked her.

"Oh yeah, I'm thinking," she said, thinking back to the hurt that she'd felt when she'd walked in on him and Shayna together in bed, thinking back to the even worse hurt she'd felt when she realized Shayna was not the first, but just one of a long string of extramarital affairs that Hunter had seen fit to have. Yeah, she was thinking about it alright, letting that hurt wash over her once again. He had nearly ruined her, nearly broken her completely and maybe if it hadn't been for Chris, she would be broken right now.

"And wasn't it great?"

"No, it wasn't," she told him. "It wasn't at all. I was faithful to you, minus the time we were separated, where we both slept with someone else, or at least in my case I slept with someone else, I don't know how many girls you were banging at the same time. Other than that, I didn't cheat on you once, not once. I loved you and you hurt me and I'm just supposed to forget about it because you're sorry now, oh wait, let me say that again, you're 'sorry' now. Do you think I'm an idiot, Hunter, really? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, I don't, which is why--"

"Which is why you're standing here, 'begging' me for my forgiveness while you're probably thinking about how you're going to cheat on me the second I take you back."

"I'm not going to cheat on you."

"Oh you will, you absolutely will. Don't think I'm not onto your game. Tell me this, Hunter, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you hate Chris so much? Seriously, just you and me right now, not going to hold this against you, I just want to know why. Is it because he's more successful? I know that when he was with the company you were in my dad's back pocket, telling him that Chris was worthless, not as great as you, and my dad listened to you even though, let's face it, Chris would school you in the ring if he had the chance. But then he leaves and your little whipping boy is gone. But then he goes out and becomes more successful than you could ever hope to become. He's topping Billboard charts, selling out world tours, on the cover of every magazine, voted Sexiest Man Alive, and you're sitting there, jealous as can be, wondering how your whipping boy has gotten so big. Then, as if to add insult to injury, my dad, the person you thought you had wrapped around your finger invites him back like a son-in-law…like…you, until you broke my heart. It kills you, doesn't it? That kills you."

Hunter jaw had progressively gritted more and more throughout her entire speech. He was trying not to lose his cool, but she'd hit it right on the head. Chris was never supposed to be more famous, he was never supposed to get where he was and he hated the man for it. He was a bastard and he didn't deserve any of the fame he had. To top it all off, he'd taken Stephanie and yes, he hated him, he hated him because Hunter was told he'd never work for the WWE again, which was stupid because he was still a great wrestler, he just needed the chance.

"Angry, huh?"

"No, I just hate that you think that is what's going on."

"You're unbelievable. How far are you willing to take this?" she asked.

"I want you back."

"No, you don't."

"I do, I really, really do."

"Well, I don't want you, so even if you are being truthful, I still don't want you," Stephanie said with a shrug.

"Please."

"Not going to happen. I'm happy, I'm happy with Chris, happier than I _ever_ was with you. Good luck trying to get Keagan, Hunter, because I'm not going to let it happen. I'm still, after all this crap you've been pulling, to give you tons of visitation, time with her. I_ want_ you to be her father. Yeah, you heard me. She's still your daughter and I want you to be there for her, as much as you want, as much as she wants. I'm willing to compromise on this, but _this_, this little game, not going to persuade me at all."

"Stephanie…"

"No!" she said, turning to walk away. She would just circumvent the building to get to her car.

"Stephanie, wait!" Hunter said, walking after her. She kept walking. Hunter ran to get next to her, going into the street to do so. "Stephanie, come on."

"Hunter," she said, turning towards him and seeing the car before he did.

"Hunter, watch out!"


	58. Chapter 58

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys, I'm glad I could surprise you. Hope you enjoy the chapter and reviews are definitely appreciated and loved, each and every one of them. :)

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In the split-second in which she saw the car and he didn't, a lot of things ran through her mind. You wouldn't think that so many thoughts could come in such a short span of time, but amazingly, they did. The first thought was to let him get hit. She didn't know why that was the first thought and maybe she would be going to hell for it, but God help her, the first thought was just to let that car, that fast car, go at him, see if it could do some damage. Maybe that car was just karma, finally catching up with her ex-husband. It would be fitting, wouldn't it, to have Hunter get hit by this car, having him smashed and broken like he'd left her and the girls.

But could she honestly do that? Was she the kind of person that would let Hunter get hit like that? It was a very real possibility that this could kill him and was she willing to just stand there and let that happen? Wouldn't that just be her being Hunter except about a million fold? Would Hunter let her get hit? She honestly didn't know the answer to that. She hoped he wouldn't let her get hit, but this was Hunter and he'd proven he was a low person, but that low, really, _that_ low?

Then there was Keagan. In all of this, Keagan was still Hunter's daughter. She still loved her father, though Stephanie was loath to figure out why, but Keagan loved her daddy, despite his faults, his many faults. Hunter wasn't the best father, but he was still Keagan's father and that meant something to her and it meant something to Keagan, even if it didn't always mean something to Hunter himself. So if she made this decision, if she let him get hit, then it would essentially be taking away Hunter from Keagan and for all his many faults, no little girl deserved to have her father be taken away from her. No little girl…

Stephanie grabbed with both hands onto Hunter's startled arm. He'd tensed at seeing the car, his eyes staring, very deer-in-the-headlights, completely still, like a mannequin. Stephanie tugged with all her weight and pulled him out of the street and onto the curb. Her momentum sent her flat on her butt and sent Hunter on his side, but out of harm's way. Stephanie quickly got up and helped Hunter up. He was still so stunned that he was pretty much dead weight in her arms, but he managed to stand of his own accord.

"Are you okay?" Stephanie asked, dusting her butt off. She didn't want to acknowledge the rate her heart was beating at because it was going so fast right now. Now that it was over, she can't believe she even thought about letting him get hit and she thinks that's where the adrenaline is from. She never would've let him get hit.

"Huh?" he said, still staring ahead at where he would've been and where he would've gotten hit. She wondered if he was picturing himself lying on the pavement, a pool of blood forming underneath him, dripping onto the pavement.

"Are you okay?" she asks again, looking him over to see if he's hurt, like maybe the car clipped him and he didn't get out of the way in time and she didn't pull him out of the way in time. She thought about hospitals and insurance and if she was still next of kin because _that_ would be awkward.

"I…think I'm fine," he said, glancing down at himself and he was still in one piece and other than being a little sore from where his body had hit the pavement.

"Good," she said, nodding her head stupidly, not knowing the appropriate response at this moment in time. "Good."

"You saved me," he said, turning towards her and she didn't need to see his face to know he was incredulous over that fact.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him, wondering if he had a concussion. Had his head hit the pavement? She'd been falling on her ass so she hadn't seen if Hunter had hit his head against the pavement. She figured he would have a cut or something, but maybe it was just a hard bump.

"You saved my life."

"Well, I mean, the car probably wasn't going that fast," she said, trying to downplay what she'd done, but that car _had_ been going rather fast so it wasn't exactly like he'd get bumped and that would be it.

"No, you saved my life."

"Whatever, you were about to get hit. Let me walk you to your car," she told him, her motherly instincts kicking in, damn them, they were making her actually feel sorry for this man who not ten minutes before had been trying to convince her that he was still in love with her and wanted her desperately even when she knew that he didn't want any of that and rather wanted her away from Chris.

"Okay," he said, walking a little and then stopping, "no, wait, you saved my life, Stephanie, you pulled me out from that car. You didn't let me get hit."

If he even so much as said she did it out of love, she was going to get in her car and run him over herself. "Of course I didn't let you get hit."

"But…why?"

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "Hunter, you're the father of my daughter, you think that I'm going to let you get hit by a car? Seriously? I mean, I know you've done a lot of horrible things to me and to my children, but to let you get hit by a car? Really?"

"But after the way I've acted, the things I've said and done to you."

"Like I said, the bottom line is that you are Keagan's father and Keagan loves you and who am I to take that away from her," Stephanie said. "That's what you do when you're a parent. I may not like you, but do I want you hit by a car, in a hospital, dead, no, I don't because it would devastate our little girl. No matter what you've done, anything you've done, nothing is going to change that fact."

"You didn't have to save me."

"I kind of did," Stephanie said, trying to lead him to his car.

"No, you didn't."

"I did, okay, you're a jackass, but you're my kid's father, do you get that? Keagan loves you, I know somewhere in there you love her too. So yeah, I saved you, just go back to your hotel okay and just rest and don't do anything for the rest of the night because you're pretty out of it."

"Okay," he said, fumbling for his keys and she could see his hands shaking and he looked so normal right then, so like a human being, which she hadn't seen him be in a really long time. She took the keys from him since he was having a lot of difficulty trying to get the right one. He stared at her as she found the right key and unlocked the door for him. "Thanks."

"It's fine," she said, "are you okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said, "I'll probably just sit for a few minutes and then drive."

"Good idea," she told him. "If you're not ready to drive, call a cab, okay, we don't need you hitting anyone."

He tried to laugh, but it was strained and guarded. She nodded to him and started to walk away. He stood there a moment and then called out, "Stephanie?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around.

"Thank you," he told her.

"You're welcome," she said simply. She could've said more, but she didn't. She could tell there were a lot more words behind that thank you, but she didn't make him say them. She just turned and walked towards her car and got inside. She sat a moment, staring at Hunter staring at his steering wheel. She almost felt bad for him. She sighed and got back out of her car and over to him. "Hunter, do you want a ride back to your hotel?"

"Would you?" he asked, nearly ashamed for having to ask that.

"Come on, you can come pick up your car later," she said as he got out of the car and locked it, walking over to her car. He climbed in the front seat next to her as she started up the car. Hunter was looking around, trying not to look at her. She could feel his eyes darting every which way. They stopped a couple times and she could tell one stop was on Chris's sunglasses, which were perched in the console on the dashboard and the other was on the Fozzy CD that was the top CD in the case on her visor. There were little touches of Chris everywhere in her life, none bigger than the ring sitting on her finger.

The ride was silent and she dropped him off at his hotel and he just nodded to her and mumbled his thanks. She drove back home and sighed as she sat in the driveway for a few minutes. Chris came out a few moments later, looking for Keagan's shoe. She was missing a shoe and he swore he'd seen it on the lawn somewhere, why it was there he had no clue, but he remembered a pink shoe somewhere. He saw Stephanie sitting in her car and he walked over and tapped on the window. She jumped and then looked at him, seeing his smiling face and she couldn't help but smile back. She climbed out of the car and he engulfed her in a hug.

"It doesn't look like it went well," Chris said, whispering into her neck as he buried his face in it.

"No, not well at all," she mumbled.

"What happened?"

"He tried to convince me he was still in love with me and wanted me back."

"He…excuse me, he what?" Chris asked, pulling away from her and she was sad for the loss of contact with his body. "He tried to do _what_?"

"He tried to get me to leave you. He's so jealous of you, what you have, fame, all of that, he's so jealous because he used to control you, but now he can't anymore and it kills him more than he's willing to admit so I guess he figured if he could have me then he would have the one-up on you again."

"I'm guessing that since you're here with me, you didn't go off with him?" Chris said, a slight chuckle on his lips, but that just belied the serious question buried underneath.

"No, I didn't, that ship has long since sailed," she told him, burrowing herself further into him. "Long since sailed."

"Good," he said, pulling her tighter against him.

"Chris, just because you're my second husband doesn't mean you have to worry about the first, okay," she told him reassuringly as he held her.

"Okay," he said, relaxing a little more. It was just something that stuck with him a little, but in time, he knew he would get over it. In time…

"I saved his life," Stephanie then told him.

"What?" Chris asked, confused again. First she'd been saying how Hunter was trying to win her back and now she was saying she'd saved his life. "From what, his nose explode or something?"

"I'm serious," she said. "There was a car and he was in front of it and I pulled him out of the way."

"You're serious," Chris said, pulling away for the second time. "Wow, you pulled him out of the way?"

"I couldn't let him get hit."

"No, I would've pulled him out of the way too. No matter how much I hate the guy, I don't want to watch him die when I can do something, besides, Keagan is his daughter and to lose her father in that way."

Stephanie pressed her palms against Chris's warm cheeks and kissed him fiercely. "I love you," she said.

"What was that for?"

"Just you being you, which is so much like me," she said. "I said the same thing and just, I don't know. Seeing him broken like that, he was so broken. I mean, I don't wish that on him, but I had to do the right thing, you know. He still could try and take Keagan from me, but I had to do the right thing, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I just hope it was worth it in the end."


	59. Chapter 59

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy! :)

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He sat in his hotel room for a while, still shaken up from what happened earlier. He felt like his body was shaking even though he figured it wouldn't look like that to anyone else. He'd stared death in the face and this time he'd won, but who had really won it for him? It wasn't himself. He hadn't saved himself. Stephanie had saved him. His ex-wife had saved him. The same woman he'd cheated on numerous times, the same one he'd left alone in a hotel room while he went to some seedy bar and had quickies in the bathroom. After all that, she'd still saved him.

He'd been so hell-bent on revenge, this grudge he held against Chris getting the better of him. He just could not stand the idea of Chris getting everything he'd had. Maybe it was a case of not knowing what you had until it was gone, but more than that, Hunter knew it was because he'd always liked having the advantage over Chris. There was just something so comforting about it, especially after all the success Chris had managed to get with his band. The unexpected rise of Chris's band had caught him off guard, but Hunter always had wrestling to hold over him, always, now he didn't and it had turned him green with jealousy.

That jealousy has manifested itself into this ugly custody battle, where lines were drawn and everyone was coming out a little scarred. Still, Chris didn't stray and, though Hunter didn't expect him to just bolt, Hunter had hoped that Chris would figure it was too much trouble and just let it go, maybe even let Stephanie go, but here he was, still here, sticking around. And still, through it all, Stephanie had saved his life, saved him from the brink. Sure, he didn't know what would happen if he had been hit. Perhaps nothing, perhaps the car would have swerved, but you couldn't live your life on perhaps. If he'd been hit, it could have been the worst case scenario.

He finally gathered himself together enough to go down to his car. With his hand now visibly shaking, he drove to his mother's house. He needed to speak with her. He knew she was mad at him, had told him things he didn't want to hear, but he needed to talk to her because over everything else, she was his mother and if you couldn't turn to your mother, who could you turn to? Hunter had alienated too many people in his life and now it was coming to this, where he'd have to crawl back to gain any semblance of a life.

"Hunter?" his mother said as he opened the door.

"Hi, Mom, can we talk?" he asked sheepishly, the first time he'd actually felt the emotion in a long time. It felt strange on his skin, like scales.

"Of course," she said, welcoming him inside. He was her son and she loved him and though she disagreed with him, she still knew when he needed her. She stepped out of the way and allowed him entrance. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and sat down. His mother sat down across from him and stared at him for a long while, waiting for him to make the first move.

"Stephanie saved me today," he said, his voice low and almost ashamed.

"Saved you?"

"There as a car coming at me and she pulled me out of the way. I don't even know where she got the strength to pull me, but she did. I didn't get hit because of her."

"Wow," Pat said. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, I'm okay," Hunter answered. "I didn't get hit, just kind of in shock, I guess. She didn't have to do that for me, Mom, but she did anyways. She said because she couldn't let me get hit and because I'm Keagan's father, but she still didn't have to do that."

"I don't think she'd want you to get hit."

"I think she would…I've been…I've been awful to her, Mom," Hunter told her. "I've been awful to everyone. I'm just now realizing the way I've acted, but I don't know how to change it. I still hate Chris Jericho with everything that I am. I hate everything about him and I would love nothing more than to see him and Stephanie break up."

"Well, as much as I don't like to hear you feel that way, sometimes we can't help the way we feel, but we have to deal with those feelings in a positive way," Pat said. "You have to realize that Stephanie has moved on. I thought you were moved on as well."

"Seeing her with him bugs me, I hate him so much," Hunter said, the bitterness obvious in her tone. "He gets everything, Mom, _everything_."

"Hunter, you have to stop acting this way and just let it go. You were the one to leave Stephanie and you gave her no choice but to move on. The mature thing would be for you to accept this and move on."

"I guess," Hunter said, but he wasn't sure he could do that. He wasn't sure he could go the rest of his life in a world where Chris got everything and got the upper-hand in everything. It was bad enough knowing it, but being as famous as he was, Chris's face was all over the place, magazines, newspapers, television, the internet. Hunter couldn't escape him if he tried.

"I love you, but this is not good for you, this quest for revenge."

"I know," he told her. "I can't get past him, but Stephanie…she saved me when she didn't have to and I've been so terrible to her and now I don't know what to do."

"What is your brain telling you to do?"

"My brain is telling me that I need to drop this custody suit and realize that Stephanie was right and the deal she's giving me is probably better than I deserve at this point. I tried to manipulate her, Mom. I tried to convince her that I was still in love with her so that she would take me back, just to get back at Chris. She helped me even after all that. So I feel like I should just take the deal she's offering."

"I think that's a very good plan."

"Do you think I would have any shot at custody whatsoever?" Hunter wondered.

His mother sat there for a moment and then looked at him earnestly. "I love you, Hunter, I do, but I think we both know that you aren't ready to have fully custody of Keagan. I think it's best that she stay where she's comfortable and with people she's comfortable with. It sounds like she's happy with Stephanie and Chris, but that doesn't mean that you have to be out of her life. That's what I think you've been doing so wrong in all of this. I know Stephanie, she's been extending the branch to you and I think it's finally time you take it. You're back on the East Coast for now and you should be spending this time with your daughter, who does want to be around you, instead of concocting silly plans of revenge."

"Thanks, Mom, I think I really needed to hear that."

"And I think that you have a lot of thinking to do."

"I do," he nodded. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight?"

"You know you never have to ask."

"Thanks, Mom."

Hunter didn't necessarily feel like he was a changed person. He didn't feel like he was turning over a new leaf. He just felt like he was doing the right thing for once. Stephanie had not thought of herself when she'd grabbed him out of the way and now it was time for him not to think of himself. He knew he was a selfish person; he always had been. That had led to the downfall of his marriage with Stephanie and with pretty much every relationship he'd ever had. He became greedy and selfish. When he was dating Chyna, he'd seen something better in Stephanie and he'd gone for it, when he was with Stephanie, he thought he was on top of the world and had slept with a myriad of women because he thought he was untouchable.

He wasn't, though, he wasn't untouchable and he had to come to grips with that. It was time to stop thinking of himself all the time and maybe start to think about others. He'd already lost Ferris, but he did still have Keagan and she loved him. He'd taken that love for granted. He'd just always assumed that Keagan would come running to him and love him just because he was her father. He'd never really _tried_ before. Sure, when he and Stephanie were married, he'd been a little more attentive, but he'd never really tried hard at what he did. He just…was a father. Seeing Keagan not want to be around him and want to be around Chris had shown him that he did have to work at this father thing.

He couldn't just be there and expect his daughter to love him. He had to work to earn her love and he was starting to see that he wanted to earn that love. It was going to be a hard road, he knew that, but it wasn't an impossible one. Stephanie had left a lot of doors opened for him, doors she probably should have shut. He hated to admit it, hated to even think it, but at this point, Chris was more a father to Keagan than he was. That burned him. He hated that man with such passion that to give him credit for anything felt like bile sliding up his throat.

Chris was helping Ferris with her homework when the phone rang. He kissed the top of her head as he stood up and went to grab the phone. He picked it up and answered, "Hello?"

Hunter scowled as he realized it was Chris that answered the phone. He was hoping he would get lucky and Stephanie would answer, but no, he had to talk to the one man he didn't want to talk to. "Hello."

"Who is this?" Chris asked, though he had an inkling. Actually, it was more than an inkling. He could recognize Hunter's voice, but he just kind of wanted to rub it in and make Hunter identify himself. Even though he and Stephanie had both said they would save Hunter when it came down to crunch time, it didn't mean that Chris liked the guy. This guy was still trying to make his life miserable by taking Keagan away from her family.

"It's Hunter," he said gruffly. "Can I talk to Stephanie?"

"Well, she's kind of busy right now."

"Look, it's important," Hunter cut in, "will you just let me talk to her? It won't even take that long."

"Fine," Chris said, his tone short. "You better not upset her though, do you hear me? I'm sick and tired of you trying to upset her. And this shit about you trying to convince her that you were still in love with her, what the hell were you thinking? You think she's just going to jump into your arms again."

"I'm not getting into this with you," Hunter said. "I don't have to listen to you or whatever comes out of your jackass mouth."

"I think you do. You're dealing with _my_ family now and I'm not just going to let you treat Stephanie that way. You _had_ your chance with her and you blew it. Do you even realize what you gave up? I mean, you come out here and you tell her that you love her, that you still do when we both know it was just a ruse. A way to get back at me, like I didn't know what was going on. But do you even stop and think about the great thing you gave up? I don't really care because I'm benefiting from it and I would _never_ treat her that way, but the next time you think of some stupid plan, just think about her!"

"Chris, what's going on?" Stephanie asked as she walked into the kitchen. She'd heard the rising tones from upstairs and couldn't figure out what was upsetting Chris.

"It's nothing."

"Who is that?" she asked.

"It's Hunter, he wants to talk to you, but I wanted to talk to him first."

"Give me that," she said, grabbing the phone away from him. She gave him a look and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hunter, what is it?"

"Finally," Hunter said. "I just wanted to talk to you and not get a lecture from your boyfriend."

"Fiancé," she corrected absently, "what's going on?"

"He was yelling--"

"Not with him, I don't really care about the bad blood between you two, what is going on with you? Why are you calling the house? Look if this is regarding what happened…"

"It's not, not really," he said, his voice lowering.

"Then what's it about?" Stephanie asked.

"I want to take your deal."


	60. Chapter 60

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone for the reviews, I love each and every one. Sorry for the delay in updating, was kind of stuck on this one, but I managed to pull out a chapter. If you want to review, I encourage you to do so. Enjoy. :)

* * *

Stephanie couldn't stop smiling.

Maybe this was a bad thing in the long run. Her mother had always told her if she kept her face a certain way it would freeze like that. The typical things mothers said before children got to be too smart for their own good. She wasn't sure she'd be unhappy with her face freezing in this permanent grin. In fact, she rather liked it. She liked the feeling that accompanied it and she liked that whenever she looked at Chris, he had that same silly grin on his face just because she had one on hers.

"He's taking the deal," she whispered when Chris wrapped his arms around her while she was cooking dinner. "I can't believe he's taking it."

"It probably had something to do with you saving his life," Chris told her, nipping at her ear. He liked seeing her happy. Hell, he liked seeing her, but he liked seeing her happy most of all. He'd been shocked when Stephanie had hung up the phone and told him about the call. When Hunter had initially called, Chris had been wary, but this seemed to be great for everyone.

"Then I'm glad I did instead of letting him get hit by a car," Stephanie laughed, even though it hadn't been a funny situation. The stupidest things were funny right now. "I just…I wanted him to understand that I wasn't trying to cut him out of Keagan's life, I never wanted to do that."

"I know you didn't, I didn't want you to either."

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head a little bit. "I know it's going to be difficult, you know, being married, being a couple when I have to deal with my daughter's father."

"It comes with the territory. I've never wanted him completely out of her life," Stephanie gave him a look and he shrugged. "Okay, maybe for a little while there, when he was being the biggest jackass on the planet, but I would never just outright deny him his daughter. He's her father…I know I'm new at this father thing, but I don't think I'd want to be cut off from my daughter's life and I don't think that he should be either."

Stephanie turned around in Chris's arms and then looked at him, running her hand down his cheek. "I don't know how I got you, Chris, I really don't, but I'm so glad I did. I don't think I could handle this without you."

"Of course you would."

"No, I don't think I would," she sighed, leaning back against the counter. "I mean, I guess I would have, but you don't know how hard it was when it was just me with the girls. I just wondered…I don't know, just wondered what I'd done wrong and all those silly things. Then if Hunter had tried to contest for custody and I'd had nobody to lean on, it's just a scary thought, that feeling of loneliness."

"I know what you mean," he said, "I mean, not the parent thing because I'm not a parent…wait, no, I wasn't a parent, but living in that big house and not having anything to speak for it. Just not knowing who was really my friend. Being a rock star is lonely. People think that it's all fun and games, but then, it's really not."

"Then I'm glad we have each other," Stephanie said, kissing him lightly. "I can't believe that he's taking it. He said that he can't move out here because he owns a gym now in California, how I didn't know that, I don't know, but I guess that whole abandoning thing he did explains that. But he said he'll try to get out here as much s possible to see her. I'm thinking that if that works out he can go and spend time with him in California."

"Do you think that Keagan will want to go? I know she wasn't so happy about going out without Ferris?"

"I don't think Hunter will want Ferris. I think that'd be pushing it, but I think Keagan will be okay, if she wants to go that is. It's all up to her, I don't want to force her to do anything that she doesn't want to do and if she doesn't want to go visit him there, it's fine. I think Hunter will be here more…I hope he is."

"Maybe just to spite me," Chris chuckled.

"He does have a huge grudge against you," Stephanie said, brushing her fingers through his hair. "But maybe we could use that to our advantage, maybe it'll make him a better father now that he has competition. I know that beyond the hurt over Ferris, he's pissed that you're her father. I think he would rather it be anyone else besides you and he may want to show that he can be a great father to Keagan just to show you up. And it might work, you know, it might actually _make_ him a better father without him totally realizing it."

"That'd be something alright," Chris said and Stephanie looked at him. "I'm sorry, I'm still wary of him. I know he's Keagan's father, but he has to show that he actually wants to be there for her before I believe him, I guess. Do you really believe him?"

"I have to, don't I?" she said with a shrug. "I don't have a choice at this point. I want him to be a good father to her. Keagan deserves it."

"She does, she's the best kid. I don't see how he could abandon her period, let alone stay away for such a long time."

"Chris, I love you," Stephanie said, but then pouted a little. "But let's not try and figure out what goes on in that man's head. Let's just enjoy the moment now and hope that everything works out for the best in this situation and we can all be happy. Let's think about how you're going to be going back to wrestling soon. I think that's going to be awesome and you're going to be amazing."

"I don't know, the fans might have forgotten about me, it's been such a long time."

"Forgotten about you? Chris, are you aware that you are one of the biggest rock stars on the planet, right now? I can't even go to the store sometimes because I've got the paparazzi following me, which is weird. I'm so used to living without that there."

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry for being popular," she told him. "I just have to get used to the fact that you are one hot commodity and I'm just the nobody that is with you."

"I hardly think you're a nobody," he told her, kissing her forehead and then kissing her cheek and then moving to her lips, pressing his own against hers. That quieted her down for a second and she forgot about the vegetables she'd been chopping in favor of Chris's mouth. He bent her back over the counter until they heard some giggling coming from the doorway. They pulled apart and saw the girls standing there, watching them. "And just what do you two want?"

"You two were kissing a lot!" Keagan said, covering her mouth as she giggled.

"Yeah, so?" Chris asked, giving her a bit of a mock glare.

"It's funny!" Keagan said.

"Oh, you think so," Stephanie said, chasing after Keagan and scooping her up before kissing her repeatedly on the cheek with big, loud, smacking kisses that left multiple lip prints on Keagan's cheek. "How do you like it?"

"Mommy, stop!" Keagan laughed, trying to pull away.

"So I was just talking with Daddy and he said that he wants to see you a lot," Stephanie told her daughter.

"Did he mean it though, Mommy? Because before he said he would come see us and he didn't come see us, do you think that he'll really want to see me?"

"I think he really means it this time," Stephanie told her very seriously. "I think that he's going to come visit you a lot and then maybe you can go visit him in California if you want to, but we'll wait and see how that goes."

Chris, who had gone over to Ferris and had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, looked down at Ferris and made a funny face at her. "Daddy," she said, still getting used to that, "do you really think that…um, Keagan's dad will want to see her?"

"I think so, I hope so."

"But what made him change?" Ferris asked.

"Sometimes some things happen that make us see that we were acting very badly. Some people call that a revelation and I think that Hunter had one of those. I think that something made him change his mind."

"I'm glad," Ferris nodded. She liked seeing her little sister happy. If Ferris had a great daddy in Chris, she wanted Keagan to have a great daddy too.

Hunter sat there, taking deep breaths. He was not a man that prided himself on humility. In fact, he might even call humility a weakness. He'd always been the first to toot his own horn and he was perfectly fine with that. He wanted people to notice him so giving in and realizing he'd made a mistake, needing to apologize, it had been difficult for him. Still, it was the right decision. Stephanie was more than kind to him and wanted him involved in Keagan's life even if he didn't really deserve it at this point. He'd prove to her that he did though, if only to show her that he could be a good father.

Now he had to suck it up again. He picked up his phone and then put it back down. Then he picked it up again and then put it back down. He did that five more times before he felt like he should tape the phone to his hand. He didn't chicken out, but it was so difficult to say he was sorry. He hated that word, wished it had never been invented, but he knew it had and so he had no choice but to do this. He picked up the phone again and went to the number he wanted to call, though reluctantly.

"What do you want?"

"I want to apologize."

"What if I don't want your apology?"

He sighed. He deserved this. "Look, a lot of things happened today, a lot of things that made me think and reevaluate a lot of things about the way I was living my life. The first of those being Keagan. I talked to Stephanie and I accepted her deal. You were right, she was more than fair about it. So I took it."

"What made you really change your mind?" Shayna asked. She knew it couldn't be just the fact that he'd changed his mind.

"I was almost hit by a car today…"

"What!"

"Stephanie saved me," he added.

"Oh my God, are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're both fine," Hunter answered. "It just…it really made me think."

"I bet, so why are you calling me? Not that I'm not glad to hear that nobody died or anything. I'm also glad that you're taking the deal with Stephanie. She was more than generous in offering you what she did. It pretty much meant you could see Keagan as much as you wanted. I don't think you should've even entertained the idea of having full custody."

"I guess," Hunter said. "But she was right, you were right. I shouldn't have done what I did and having your life flash before your eyes really put things into perspective."

"Well good."

"I want you back."

She scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me. After the way you treated me, you think I'm going to take you back?"

"I know I don't deserve it, but I would like if it you did. I'm sorry, Shay, you know how hard it is for me to say that word and mean it, but I do mean it with you. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, for the things I said. I know that I was horrible to you."

"Yeah, you were."

"Can we at least talk?"

"Fine, tomorrow, you get one lunch, Hunter, that's it."

"Thank you."

It was time for him to really change.


	61. Chapter 61

A/N: Thanks for those still reading this story. I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update it, I had some major writer's block for it. Hopefully I can put it back into the rotation. I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you feel so inclined. :)

* * *

Change was difficult for Hunter. Change meant that he had been doing something wrong and he knew he'd been doing a lot wrong. Stephanie wasn't faultless in this, they both knew that, at least he thought Stephanie knew it. The way the situation with Ferris had played out, he knew that she was sorry for not realizing sooner. She also understood that he would be mourning that loss, at least a little and he was. It was hard to accept that that smart, beautiful girl wasn't his, but more than that, he knew that he was wrong about how he'd handled just about everything since his affair had come out.

He'd been a coward about everything. He'd been a coward for leaving and not seeing his daughters for months, not doing more than speaking a few minutes with them. There was no excuse for that behavior either, not any valid ones either. These were his daughters and he had tossed them aside like garbage. And while Keagan was now his only child, he had been ignoring her too for the longest time and when Chris had come into the picture, he'd suddenly become possessive, wanting Keagan all to himself, other people be damned. He'd lost more than he'd won in that situation and he was lucky that Stephanie didn't sue his ass or something to hurt him back.

But then, Stephanie had never really been the type to hurt other people. He finally rang the doorbell and he could hear multiple footsteps to the door and then it opened, revealing Stephanie and Keagan, a small backpack already on her back. Keagan grinned up at him, happy to see him and Stephanie gave him an encouraging look.

"Daddy, are we really going to spend the _whole_ day together?" Keagan asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I thought it would be fun," Hunter said, grinning, an action he couldn't help because of the infectious kiss his daughter was sporting.

"Yes! Fun!" Keagan exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Hey," Stephanie said, her voice soft and almost loving, but that was too much to hope for. He would take civil with her, it was the only thing he really deserved at this point. After the way he acted, he didn't deserve much from Stephanie and still, she'd practically saved his life. "How are you?"

"I'm doing okay," he told her honestly.

"Keagan, why don't you go say goodbye to Fer and Chris so I can talk to your dad, okay?" Stephanie said to her daughter, taking her shoulders and directing back into the house where Keagan went running to say goodbye to the rest of her family.

"I'll be right back!" Keagan yelled over her shoulder like Hunter would leave without her and he hated that she thought that he would leave, but that, again, was his fault. He just had to prove to her now that he was a different person; he had to prove to everyone now that he was a different person.

"So are you really doing okay?" she asked, resisting the urge to lay a hand on his arm. She was still so ecstatic that he was taking the deal that she could almost feel happy to see him. She didn't want to go through that ugly custody battle, but she didn't want Keagan to lose Hunter from her life either. This was the best of both situations. "I mean, you were pretty spooked after that thing with the car."

"You mean where you saved me when you didn't have to," he responded.

"Yeah, that, I guess," she said with a shrug, not really sure that she wanted to delve back into that. She'd said her piece and he'd said his and that was that.

"It just gave me time to think, I talked with Shayna and she's willing to give us another chance, slowly of course, because…I really do love her, Steph. When I left you, I guess…"

"I get it," Stephanie said, "believe me, I get it. I might not have when you first left me, but ever since Chris came along, he just made me realize that sometimes the first go-around is not the right one and maybe Shayna really is the right one for you."

"Yeah," he told her. It felt awkward now and he wished to banish this from their conversations. "I shouldn't have brought her up."

"Of course you should have, she's your girlfriend," Stephanie said. "I know that this is going to take some getting used to, this odd family we've assembled here, but it'll get easier with time and easier with the more time that you spend with Keagan. She really missed you and she loves you."

"I know, I'm going to be better," he said and he didn't want to feel like he was suddenly competing with Chris for father of the year, but he did, against his will.

He still didn't like Chris and he ventured a guess that he never would. He would never admit it, but there was jealousy there, jealousy that he might not even be aware of. Chris had so much going for him. He was a majorly successful member of a globally popular band, he was rich beyond his wildest dreams, he had a gorgeous fiancée and a daughter that had been Hunter's, but was no longer. He just seemed to have it all and that frustrated Hunter.

"That's all I ever wanted."

"So…I don't know how well this would go over with you guys or anything and I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but um, I know that Keagan gets lonely sometimes so if…Ferris wanted to tagalong with us, I wouldn't have a problem with that."

"You wouldn't mind if she came along?" Stephanie asked incredulously. She'd heard about people turning over a new leaf, but Hunter was pretty much turning over an entire _tree_. This was not what she expected and though she could see a little twinge of something in Ferris's eyes while Keagan had been getting ready, sadness perhaps.

"No, I wouldn't, I mean, for a long time I thought she was my daughter and I may not have acted appropriately but-"

"You may not have acted completely like a human this past year or so, but that's the one thing I can't be mad about you about. You were in shock and you believed for so long."

"I love my kids…kid," Hunter told her. "Hell, I do still love Fer. I can't just switch it off even if I acted like I did. I think it would be good to show her that I don't hate her. I don't necessarily hate you or Chris over it either, I fostered the situation in the first place and it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't acted like a complete ass."

"Thank you," Stephanie nodded. "I'll go tell her, okay?"

"Okay," Hunter nodded.

Stephanie turned and her mouth widened in surprise. She couldn't believe the change in Hunter. Had he seen his death before his eyes or something? That would be the only reasonable explanation to the change that had occurred over such a short period of time. This was not the man she'd seen a few weeks ago, hell, a few days ago. He'd matured and there were probably many things she could attribute it to, but if he was really willing to change and have Ferris with him, then she would try and take him at his word.

"I was just saying goodbye!" Keagan said as Stephanie stepped into the living room. "I'm ready now!"

"I understand that, but your dad thought that it might be nice if Ferris went along with you."

Chris and Ferris looked up at her in shock for Ferris and suspicion for Chris. Chris stood up and went over to Stephanie, "Steph, do you think that's a good idea, letting her go with them? I mean, he was so angry when he found out."

"I think he's serious," Stephanie whispered back to him. "I think he's actually on the up and up with this and I know that Ferris has been worried that Hunter is angry with her and if she goes out with him and Keagan-"

"But what if he treats her poorly? I know that he wasn't exactly the best father right before he left and after he left and before I found out, but she still has high expectations of him and good memories, enough to love him, however that works," Chris scoffed, "but I don't want her to go out with him and he treats her like crap."

"I don't think he will and if he does, I will talk to him."

"Oh, I'll talk to him too, believe me," Chris said darkly.

Stephanie took Chris's face in her hands and kissed him, "I love you, but you're a hothead. Let's just see what happens, okay? Regardless of how things go with Hunter and Ferris, we're all part of a family now, Hunter included and we have to accept that."

"I do, I just don't want him to hurt my daughter," Chris said.

"You're a good father," Stephanie said, then looked around him at Ferris. "It's up to you, Fer, if you want to go with Keagan and Hunter, then you are more than welcome to."

"Come! Come!" Keagan said, jumping up and down and tugging on her sister's sleeve. "You _have_ to! Daddy and I are going to have so much fun and we could have even more fun if you were there so you _have_ to, please, please, please!"

"Is it okay?" Ferris asked her parents.

"If you want to, you absolutely can."

"Will um…Da—I mean, will Hunter," she said slowly, "would he really be okay with that?"

"He invited you so I think it would be okay."

"Then okay, I'll go," Ferris nodded.

"Here, I'll help you get your stuff," Stephanie said, leading Ferris upstairs to get her own backpack. Chris looked at Keagan, who seemed about ready to jump out of her skin she was so excited to spend a day with her father.

"Hey, why don't you go help your mom and Ferris," Chris told her.

"Okay!" Then Keagan was off like a bullet. That left Chris standing in the middle of his living room and before he gave it a second thought, he went to the front door. He could see Hunter sitting there, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, waiting for Stephanie to show up with the girls. Chris believed Stephanie when she said that she thought Hunter had changed. She knew him better, but Chris knew a little bit about him as well.

He walked up to the door, causing Hunter to look up at him. There was distrust in his eyes and Chris knew the same was reflected in his own. "Chris," he said gruffly.

"Hunter," Chris said. "I heard that you were taking Ferris with you."

"I thought it would be nice for Keagan to have her sister along. I don't think I'm the most fun person to go to the playground and roller skating with."

"Roller skating, huh? I never took you for a roller skater."

"I'm not, but I thought it would be fun for Keagan and I thought Ferris might like it too. I know she's not much of a sports girl or really outdoorsy type, but I know that she would have fun," Hunter said and to Chris's ears, it was like Hunter was trying to assert that he still knew more about Ferris than Chris, her real father, did.

"I'm sure she'll have fun, she's an easygoing kid," Chris said. "Don't do this if you're just going to treat her differently."

"I wasn't going to," Hunter said.

"Don't you dare hurt her, okay? I'm telling you right now not to hurt her. You've already done so much hurting to her and to Keagan, don't you _dare_ do it on my watch though. I know you thought she was your daughter, but she's my daughter now too and I won't have you hurting her like you did. She still loves you and she's terrified that you hate her now so if you so much as make her sad for even one moment, I will hunt you down."

"Believe me, I'm not going to hurt her," Hunter said. "If you don't want to believe it, that's your problem."

"Everything okay here?" Stephanie asked, both girls by her side.

"Yeah," Chris said, stepping out of the way. "You two have fun, okay? I want to hear about everything you do when you come back so you'll have to remember _everything_, got it?"

"Got it!" Keagan said, hugging Chris's leg briefly before going over to her father and getting picked up by him.

"You have fun," Chris said, kissing Ferris's forehead, making Hunter look away.

"I will," Ferris said quietly, kissing Chris's cheek before going over and looking up at Hunter in hope. Hunter held out his hand and she took it and bit her lip. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at her parents. They watched the three of them leave and go down the street before Stephanie closed the door.

"What were you really talking about?"

"Just don't want him to hurt our little girl."

"He won't."


	62. Chapter 62

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, much appreciated, hope you enjoy the chapter and reviews are welcome. :)

* * *

Keagan screamed (not in pain) as she hit the barrier at the roller-skating rink. She'd been trying so hard to get her balance, but roller-skating was a lot harder than she thought it would be. Ferris seemed to be getting the hang of it and she hated that she couldn't. Her father had to hold her hand, but she didn't want to hold onto it anymore. She desperately wanted to try skating by herself, but it wasn't going very well.

"Keags, why don't you just let me hold your hand?" Hunter asked, bending over so he was closer to her small height.

"I can do it!" she cried with frustration, but she still took her father's hand when he offered it to help her up. It wasn't like that was _really_ helping anyways. It was just getting a hand up. "I can skate by myself!"

Hunter, to his credit, could see his daughter's frustration and instead of pushing her, he thought it might be a good idea to take a break. "How about we get some milkshakes and sit down for a little bit…not because you can't skate, but because I'm old and tired."

Keagan giggled and nodded. Ferris, who had been hanging back a little bit, was gestured to by Hunter and she followed her sister and…Hunter. It was still weird for her to think of him in those terms. For so long he'd just been her daddy and then he left and everything changed. Now he wasn't her daddy anymore and he was just…her sister's daddy. She didn't understand what he was supposed to be in her life. She wanted to love him, she _did_ love him, but she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings if she did love him. Would Chris be mad at her if she loved Hunter? Chris was her daddy now and though she loved him very, very much, she still loved her other daddy, the one from before. For all his mistakes, he'd stayed her daddy through that. But she didn't want to upset Chris.

"Ferris, did you want a strawberry milkshake?" Hunter asked and see, that was the kind of thing she was talking about. He knew what her favorite flavor was and so did Chris of course, but it was just something to remind her of days that didn't seem to want to come back again.

"Yes, please," she said shyly, briefly wondering if Hunter would make her pay or something.

"Okay, can you just sit with your sister while I go get them?" Hunter said, lifting Keagan up and setting her down on the chair since she couldn't skate over to it. Ferris nodded and that left Ferris with her sister.

"I'm having fun!" Keagan told her big sister, hoping that she was too. "Daddy is so funny and I like roller-skating…even though I'm not very good. Do you think I'll ever be good like you, Fer?"

"Yeah, you just need to practice," Ferris encouraged her. "Then you'll be skating around the rink so fast that you won't even be seen by anyone because you'll be so fast."

"Wow…" Keagan thought about that for a second. She liked the thought of being so fast that people couldn't even see her. Then she could play tricks on everyone and they wouldn't even know it was her. Also, she wouldn't get knocked by the other people on the rink; that was no fun. Just because she was little and couldn't skate as well didn't mean people had to put their elbows on her and try to push her out of the way.

"Yeah, you'll be really good, maybe Mommy and Daddy can take us sometime."

"My daddy or your daddy?" Keagan asked curiously. "Because we have different daddies now, but we're still sisters because Mommy is still Mommy."

"My daddy," Ferris said, shutting her mouth as Hunter came over with their milkshakes. He set them down in front of their respective recipients and Keagan immediately dove into hers, showing little regard for anyone as she slurped at her sweet drink, her eyes darting around the area as she just watched the rush of people.

"Thank you," Ferris said politely as she started to sip at her milkshake. "You didn't get one?"

"Nah, I have to keep check on what I eat, I don't want to get all flabby," Hunter said, which didn't make either of the girls giggle because they probably didn't understand how to regulate their diets. So Hunter just said, "I wasn't really in the mood for one, but you guys should enjoy yours. And you're very welcome for it."

"Thank you," Keagan said retroactively, her milkshake giving her a nice, white ring around her mouth. Hunter grabbed a napkin and wiped at her mouth. "Thank you again!"

"You're welcome again," Hunter said and he was glad that he was able to be with the girls again. He hadn't realized how much he missed them. He'd taken advantage of their love for so long that he just figured that just hearing his voice would help them, but he needed to be there. He needed to be in their lives and be more than just a guy who was around every now and then.

"After this, did you want to go to the park?" Hunter asked them.

"Okay!" Keagan exclaimed. "I don't want to skate anymore anyways, everyone kept bumping into me and the park nobody bumps into me!"

"I'll bump anyone who bumps into you," Hunter told her, giving her a wink and making Keagan giggle. He looked to Ferris, who just sipped at her milkshake. He could feel her uncomfortableness coming off her in waves, but he didn't know how to make this easier for her and he wasn't even sure how to act himself. Did he still treat her like a daughter? But that bond was broken now, at least technically. He still loved her like a daughter, but it was different now and he couldn't ignore the fact that she wasn't his to coddle and spoil anymore.

"You'd knock them out," Keagan said because her father was a big guy. "I'm done!"

"You drank that awful fast, Keags," Hunter told her, "we have to wait for Ferris to finish hers."

"Then can I skate until she finishes?" Keagan asked.

"I thought that you didn't want to skate anymore because people were bumping into you," Hunter inquired. Of course, she was a little kid, changing their minds was something they did all the time.

"I just wanted to see if I could do it better now because I had a milkshake and it made me feel better," Keagan tried to explain herself, but she probably wasn't doing a very good job of explaining herself.

"Okay, but be careful," Hunter told her, leaving him and Ferris at the table. "So, the milkshake good?"

"Yeah," Ferris said.

"I'm glad that we have a moment alone together," Hunter told her and he was, "I was hoping that we could talk and I don't think it would've been easy with Keagan around, I know she's usually the more talkative of you two and I don't think either of us would get a word in edgewise."

"Yeah," Ferris said again.

"Fer, it's okay to laugh and joke around," Hunter told her, running his hand over her hair. "It's not going to be a betrayal to anyone if you have a good time."

"I'm having a good time," she lied.

"I know that this is awkward for you, it's awkward for me too and I don't want it to be that way," Hunter told her. "I love you, Ferris, and I don't care what I am to you or what I'm not to you, I still love you."

"Then why did you leave us? Why did you go away and then not come back forever? We really missed you while you were gone and you didn't even really call us and Keagan didn't understand and all we were was sad, all the time. Why didn't you care about us?"

"I did care about you, Fer," he told her with a sigh. "A lot of things just happened. I don't really have a great excuse for anything that happened, except it did. But now I see what I've done and how bad it was and I'd never do that to you guys again. I love you both."

"You're not my daddy anymore," Ferris told him. "You're not mine and…Chris is my daddy now and so it doesn't even matter anymore, does it?"

"Of course it does, I still love you and I still want to be in your life."

"Even though you're not my daddy anymore? But why would you want to do that?" she asked. Now that he wasn't her daddy, she didn't understand why he would want anything to do with her.

"Because you were still mine for a while and just because I'm not your dad doesn't mean that I don't still love you and want to spend time with you. Chris isn't Keagan's dad and he still loves her, right?"

"Yeah, that's true. Chris loves Keagan a lot."

"See, it's okay to love someone even if you're not related and I want you in my life," Hunter said. "I know that I've done a pretty bad job of it lately, but I'm trying really hard to change, Fer. I really want to be good for all of you, for you and Keagan and even your mom and dad."

"Really? But I thought you didn't like Mommy or…Chris," Ferris said, using Chris's name because she didn't know if Hunter would be offended if she called Chris dad and it felt a little weird to call Chris her father when her old father was sitting right here.

"There was a time when I didn't, but I've had time to think about it and I figured, what's the point of being angry?" Hunter told her, knowing that Ferris would understand. She was so smart beyond her years and even if it was just a little, he hoped he contributed to that intelligence, nurture over nature perhaps. "There's nothing good that ever comes from being angry. The other day, your mom did something for me that she didn't have to do. It made me look at what I was doing and how I was behaving and I didn't like what I saw. I wasn't acting like an adult, I was acting like a caveman or an animal and I had to change."

"So you'll be around now?"

"I'm going to be around, that's my promise to you guys."

"And you…you still love me, you promise, right?"

"I promise, Fer. Whatever I am to you, I will love you," he told her. She surprised him then by throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Hunter let out a breath and hugged her back. "I'm so sorry, Ferris, I'm so sorry for everything."

"It's okay," Ferris said and Hunter tried to hold back tears. He was ashamed of himself. But he was going to make it up to them.

Chris sighed and stared out the window, pacing back and forth. He felt Stephanie run her hands over his hips and he turned to her. "Chris, you can't wait for them all day, everything is fine, I'm sure."

"I just don't trust him," Chris said, sighing as he thought about his little girl and Keagan out there with a guy who _claimed_ he had changed, but who knew? "How can we be so sure that he's changed? What if he leaves Ferris somewhere to punish us?"

"He's not going to do that," Stephanie said, kissing his covered shoulder. "Come on, the kids are out and we have the whole house to ourselves and we will for the next couple hours yet."

"I think I'd rather wait here," Chris said. "Just in case they come back early."

"They probably won't, so Chris, please, come on, everything is going to be okay," she said again, trying to persuade him to come upstairs with him. He reluctantly followed her. "Chris, do you trust _me_?"

"Of course."

"Then trust me when I say, I think we're going to come out of this day alright and intact."


	63. Chapter 63

Chris ran towards the doorbell when it rang. He would have pushed Stephanie out of the way if she'd even so much as tried to get in front of him. Luckily for her body, she didn't and he flung open the door to find the people he'd been waiting for all day. It was hard not to think bout his daughter and Keagan while they were out. It probably annoyed Stephanie, but he just couldn't care until the threesome was back.

"Hi," Hunter said uncomfortably, standing there. He'd been hoping that Stephanie would answer, but it was not to be.

"Hey," Chris said, not uncomfortable because he was so happy to see the girls back that he didn't care what Hunter said or did right now. He knelt down and hugged the both of them and just clung to them for a moment, like he thought Hunter would run off with them or something. He finally stood up and faced the man who had made his life a living nightmare. "Thanks for keeping them safe."

"Of course I would," Hunter said, "they're…Keagan is my daughter."

Chris wasn't oblivious enough not to catch the almost slip-up by Hunter, but he didn't acknowledge it. "Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to question your abilities to take care of them."

Chris didn't mean to sound harsh with his own statement, but he knew how it sounded and winced. "Is Stephanie here?"

"She actually went to the store to get dinner," Chris said.

"Oh, I wanted to talk to her, just about things," Hunter kept it vague because the girls were right there with him and he didn't want to get into any of the legal stuff with them right there. He didn't want his daughter and Ferris to have to deal with that. It was an adult situation and the girls didn't need to know more than they were trying to work things out.

"Well, I guess that calling her later or tomorrow would be the best option," Chris said and he was really trying not to yell at the man. There was still something deep inside him that made him want to rage against Hunter. More than likely it stemmed from the way he had treated Stephanie, Keagan, and Ferris…actually, that's _exactly_ where it stemmed from. One good day and him consenting to Stephanie's proposed agreement did not a friendship make.

Chris wasn't sure he'd ever get at a place where he would feel comfortable around Hunter and he was sure that the other man felt the same. There was too much between them now. Before he was with Stephanie, before everything with Ferris, Chris knew that he would probably never be friends with Hunter. When he had been wrestling, Hunter had been the one to constantly hold him down. Hunter had been the jealous one when he'd had any kind of wrestling success so if relations between them were that bad then, now that things had escalated, there was an even slimmer chance that things would change.

"Can't Daddy stay for dinner?" Keagan asked sweetly. "He was with us all day and he took us out everywhere and it would be the nice thing to do if we were to have him for dinner, I think that."

Chris and Hunter both looked at the sweet, little girl who only wanted her daddy to stay a little longer. It wasn't possible though, talk about awkwardness, but neither one really wanted to cut down that happy smile and replace it with disappointment. Flynn spoke up, though, when nobody else was speaking. "Maybe we can have…Hunter over for dinner some other time, Keagan, we _did_ spend the whole day with him, we should spend time with Mommy and…Chris too."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Keagan said, noting that her sister had very good logic.

"Yeah, but maybe some other time," Chris said, giving a meaningful look over to Hunter. By no means did he ever want to actually invite Hunter over for dinner, but hopefully they could get to a place where it wasn't so horribly awkward. They were essentially family now. Their lives were going to be interconnected for the rest of their lives whether they liked it or not. Their daughters were sisters and they would always be sisters and both of them had to accept the fact.

"Okay!" Keagan said, her spirits turned around as they were wont to do with a little kid. "I'm going to go put my things away!"

"I'll come too," Ferris said, trailing after Keagan. "I'll watch her."

"Thanks," Chris said to his daughter, who was wise beyond her years. That left just him and Hunter, "They seem to have had a good time today, were they any trouble."

"Not at all," Hunter said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "They both had a good time."

"I'm glad they _both_ did," Chris said, emphasizing the both because he wanted to make sure that Hunter treated Ferris just as well as he'd treated Keagan. He'd ask Ferris later of course, but it didn't hurt to interrogate the man that had taken them out.

"They did," Hunter said, "I don't like you, Jericho-"

"The feeling is mutual, believe me," Chris interrupted.

"But I realize that you're going to be around now."

"Forever, I'm going to be around forever," Chris corrected him, though there was really nothing in Hunter's statement to provide credence to the idea that Hunter thought that Chris was only in this for the short term. Chris jut wanted to make sure that Hunter knew that he wasn't half-assing his relationship with Stephanie. This wasn't a fling and this wasn't a wedding to promote himself or look better to the public eye. He was with Stephanie because this had been something he'd wanted for longer than he could remember. He wasn't going to let Hunter interfere with that.

"Yeah, forever," Hunter muttered, "I'm just saying that I don't like you, but I know that you're going to be here and I know that we're going to have to deal with each other. I'm not proud of the way that I acted, I'm not proud of how I behaved, but I really am trying to change. Not for anyone, just for Keagan, I'm trying to change for her because I do love her."

"You could have actually shown it."

"Was that really necessary?" Hunter asked. "I know that I was a jackass."

"I think it bears repeating as often as you made those little girls hurt," Chris told him, folding his arms across his chest. "I know that you mean well, I guess, I mean, I guess that you mean well, but you'll just have to show that you have Keagan's best interests in mind. I didn't like letting Ferris go with you today, but I know she loves you and I'm not going to stand in her way of loving you."

"Thank you, I spoke with her about us, me and her, and where I thought our relationship could go. I believed she was my daughter for a long time and while I probably wasn't the best dad to her in a lot of respects, I did love her…I _do_ love her and I want to do right by her too, in whatever capacity you allow me into her life."

"Now you figure you've got something good going," Chris said, "do you have any idea that kind of hurt you put them through?"

"I'm trying to be better, Jericho, what more can I do at this point? I'm acknowledging my mistakes and I'm trying to make them better, okay! Geez, you're not exactly a saint so stop acting like one."

"If I'd known that Ferris was my daughter from the beginning, you better believe I would've been one of the best fathers to her and I _never_ would have abandoned her. I don't get you, man, I don't get what kind of man acts like you do and then sweeps in and acts like they're turning over a new leaf and after one good day thinks they can come here and act like they're the mature one."

"I don't know what you want from me, Jericho, I'm trying my best."

"Whatever," Chris said, realizing this argument was going nowhere. "I'm glad the girls had fun with you. I know you're in our lives, I know this, I don't like it, but I know it. I do want to get to a place with you where when I see you I don't want to rip your throat out and feed it to a bunch of bears, but like you said, these things take time."

"I'm not asking to be your best friend."

"Even if you were, I'd turn you down flat," Chris told him.

"I'd expect no less. I hope that I can spend more time with the girls now though. We did have a good day and I had fun with the two of them."

"Just give Stephanie a call, she knows the girls' schedules better than I do. She'll probably let you take them whenever you're free since you don't see them as often," Chris's voice had calmed down considerably and there was no biting in his tone this time. "She wants you in their lives so any time you want them, I'm sure that she'll come up with something, she's good like that."

"I know," Hunter said, not saying more, but reminding Chris silently that he'd been married to the woman. "I guess I better go now."

"Okay," Chris said, "did you want to say goodbye to the girls?"

"Oh yeah, um, sure, yeah," Hunter said.

"Come in," Chris said, opening the door further and letting Hunter inside. "I'll go get them."

"Thanks," Hunter told him. Chris turned his back to the man and disappeared somewhere into the house. Hunter looked around, feeling uncomfortable, but trying not to show it. He didn't want to fight anymore. He was really trying to turn over this new leaf, but it was difficult when nobody let you turn it over and kept seeing him for his old ways. He knew that actions spoke louder than words, but you had to start somewhere. There was no way to go from nothing to back in someone's good graces overnight. He wished there were because he would certainly take that route, but it had to start with one day and then it would build and build, but you always needed to have that first day.

"Daddy, you're leaving?" Keagan bounced back into the foyer.

"Yeah, I have to go, I have to go meet with some people," Hunter told her, though he really didn't have anywhere to go. He just didn't want Keagan to think that he didn't want to stay with her. "But I hope I'll get to see you soon."

"I hope so," Keagan told him, throwing her small arms around his massive neck, squeezing him for everything he had. "Real, real, real soon."

"Real, real, real soon, I promise," Hunter said. Ferris hung back a little and he opened up his left arm to her, "Come here, kiddo."

Ferris looked at Chris and he nodded slightly that it was okay and Ferris went and hugged Hunter as well. He kissed both their heads and then stood up. "I'll see you guys soon."

"Bye, Daddy!"

"Bye, Hunter," Ferris added.

"What's going on here?" Stephanie asked as she walked in the door to see Chris, Hunter, and the girls all in the same room, not killing each other.

"Hunter was just saying goodbye to the girls after he dropped them off."

"Oh, okay," Stephanie said, still standing there, grocery bags in her hands.

"Here, let me get those," Chris said, grabbing the bags from Stephanie and leaving her there with Hunter and the girls.

"Did you have fun, were they okay?" Stephanie fired questions at Hunter.

"They were great, I really hope that I can see them soon," he ducked his head a little and looked at her imploringly. She smiled at him and nodded. Even if Chris didn't think that Hunter was turning over a new leaf, she had to have faith in him that he was, had to trust that he was going to do the right thing. It might be hard, hell it _was_ hard, but it was something she would have to do for her daughter's happiness. She was willing to give Hunter the benefit of the doubt this one time, but if he blew it, that would be it. For now though, she had to go on blind faith.

"I definitely think we can work something out."


	64. Chapter 64

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sorry it took me so long to update. Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

"So now maybe we can actually start planning for this wedding."

Chris laughed, "Oh yeah, I think I've almost completely forgotten about that little fact," he told her and she gave him an incredulous look.

"You're the one who asked me!" she told him, pretending to be outraged that he could forget. She was kidding with him, of course. There had been so much turmoil recently that anything doing with them as a couple had to be put on the backburner, but with good reason. For both Chris and Stephanie, the girls had to and would always come first. They were like-minded people and there was no way they could even pretend to be happy about their wedding if the girls weren't happy and healthy.

"I know, but things kind of got in the way," he told her, grabbing her hand and kissing it. "I'm glad that we get to focus more on us now…well, maybe more after I get back to wrestling, you know."

"Oh, well, I forgot about _that_," Stephanie said and this time, Chris pretended to be aghast.

"What? You could possibly forget about your livelihood, how is this possible? How could Stephanie McMahon forget about the company that is intended to be hers?"

"Shut up, point taken," Stephanie said as Chris pulled her closer. "I like that we can have a moment alone and together and not be fraught with worry about the girls, about Hunter, about any of it."

"It's about damn time," he said.

"You know, you're being so calm, I'm actually kind of impressed right now," Stephanie told him, running her fingers through his hair. "I mean, the girls are spending the day with Hunter and Shayna and you're not freaking out, running to the window every five minutes, I'm actually very proud of you."

"I'm learning," he told her, proud of himself for it. "It's hard though, to resist texting him or her every five minutes to get checked up on how the girls are doing, but I'm resisting it. I want them to be able to have this time together and I don't want to infringe on it."

"I'm so proud of you, I know how difficult it is for you to do this. I know there's no love lost between you and Hunter and for you to actually let him have the girls, Ferris especially, it just speaks to the kind of man that you are."

"I know that she loves him," Chris told her, his eyebrows knitting together. "I don't begrudge her that. I don't want her to just quit him cold turkey or something even though that's what he was going for, for a while there. I just want everything to be at her pace."

"This is why I love you," she kissed his cheek. "What man would let his newly found daughter go out with the man she used to think of as her father?"

"Well, I'm guessing not many people are in this kind of situation," he joked. "I just want her to be happy. Hunter loves her too, deep down in that cold, black heart of his and I'm not so much of an asshole as to just rip her away from him. But if he ever treats her poorly…"

"Yes, yes, I know," she said. "You know, the first thing people usually do when they get married is they decide on a date…so do you think you might want to do that or whatever, I mean, I'm just suggesting things…"

"No, I like that idea," he told her with a smile. "I want to marry you, you have to know that by now. I mean, at the very least you're the mother of my child so you hold a very distinct position in my life."

"Your ex-girlfriend, Paloma, you wanted to marry her?"

"I loved her, yes, I don't know, I don't think I've ever really been serious enough to actually sit down and take marriage. Like I've told you before, Hollywood is so superficial, celebrity is more a burden than anything else. Luckily for us, nobody really knows where we live now or else we'd have someone in our bushes. God, if we lived in LA or New York, we'd have paparazzi following us everywhere, especially now that Ferris is known as my child. Everyone wants to get a picture of her, more specifically us together."

"I know, people have been calling me wanting to do an interview."

"They have, why didn't you tell me?"

"In between what, trying to fight Hunter on every little thing?" Stephanie asked.

She hadn't wanted to say anything because their lives were already nearing shambles for a while there. The last thing she'd need was a national interview asking her questions like why she hadn't realized she had Chris's baby before? How they got together, why they were still together, how had Chris reacted to the news that he had a daughter, what kind of father was he? She didn't want cameras invited into their personal lives. She just wanted to live her life like she had before, with a little bit of celebrity, but never more than she could handle.

"You still should have told me," Chris said, "I could have told Brad to get off your back, get off our backs."

"I know, but it's not a big deal, I just tell them I'm not interested and that's the end of it."

"Until someone else calls you," he said, frustrated with the situation. "You know, I wouldn't trade Fozzy's success for anything, I love what I do and what Rich and I have made the band, but sometimes, I swear, nobody knows the meaning of privacy."

"It's okay, Chris," she tried to reassure him. "Nobody even really knows what Ferris looks like. We talked with her school, they know not to release any information and they've got security that makes sure that no paparazzi can get in. That's all we really can do for now. As for the interviews and the tabloids, they haven't been anything we can't handle."

"They're just going to come more and more."

"Well, do you want to talk to Brad about it?" Stephanie reasoned. "Maybe he can offer some suggestions."

"I know what his suggestion will be, it'll be that we do one interview with a major network, hour long, talking about how we found out, how we're doing now, probably want to know about the wedding, joint interview type thing, maybe even give a tour of our house and the kids and everything."

"He has to know you don't want that," Stephanie said. "I mean, come on, he has to know that you value your privacy."

"He's my manager, Stephanie, to him, publicity puts more money in his pocket. I like the guy, he's better than most, but at the end of the day, he's still all about making money."

"So why don't we do an interview then, maybe then it'll get everyone off our backs about everything," she told him and he looked at her like she was crazy. "Hear me out. You're the hottest commodity in Hollywood right now. Your band is so popular that it's insane. Chris, you have girls who throw themselves at you on a daily basis, you have about a million different websites dedicated to you, you have websites where girls try to figure out where you live, yes, you do, don't give me that look. This means that if you were to do an interview, you could absolutely do it on your own terms, on _our_ own terms."

"Like what? Because my terms are no interview," he shrugged. He didn't want people prying into his life. It'd been this way since Fozzy had become huge. He'd seen paparazzi rooting through his trash, his _trash_! When he'd lived in LA briefly, he was followed everywhere. He'd had a picture taken of him while he was out on a jog, while he was getting his morning paper, while he stopped to get coffee, while he stopped for some fast food. There were no terms that he wanted right now. He'd be damned if the damn tabloids got a shot of him with his daughter. He was not going to have Ferris _or_ Keagan's face splashed all over where anyone could see what his girls looked like.

"Okay, so for one, the girls will not be on it."

"Absolutely would not want them anywhere near the cameras," Chris told her. "I don't want them in the spotlight. They're our girls and they don't and shouldn't…"

"We wouldn't," she interrupted his thought. "None of the girls on there, just mentions and we wouldn't have to do it here. We could find a location or go to someone's set or something, somewhere impersonal so they don't know where we live. We could request, I'm sure, whomever we wanted to interview us. We could approve the questions-"

"How do you know so much about this?" Chris asked.

"I read magazines and they're always talking about how people set up interviews and things like that. With you being who you are, of course you can make the demands."

"I don't know about this, Steph. I just…I just want privacy."

"I think you forfeited that when you decided to become a wrestler and I think you obliterated that when you became huge with Fozzy."

"Sometimes, I wish I had done things differently," he admitted.

"What? What do you mean? Are you talking about us?" Stephanie asked, looking at him critically. What did he mean by that? Was he regretting being with her, finding out Ferris was his, wanting to marry her?

"No, nothing with us," he said, "just, I don't know, having Fozzy get so big. I mean, I love it, I love playing to packed arenas, but there was something so…I don't know, underground cool about performing in small clubs for just hundreds of people, not thousands and having your concerts broadcast around the world."

"Are you kidding me, Chris? You are so popular, you touch people with your music, you know that. People everywhere have fallen in love with your music. You've brought metal to places it hasn't been in a very long time, if ever. You're an inspiration."

"Don't do that, Steph," he told her, finding himself smiling against his will. It was so hard to have feelings like he was when Stephanie was there to cheer him up. He wished that she would agree, but he knew she was just being encouraging.

"I'm just telling you the truth. Look, if we get this squared away then that's it."

"Except it wouldn't be. They'd still want to see Ferris, they'd still want pictures of all of us. It will never end unless we pull a Johnny Depp and move to France or something."

"Not happening," she joked. "We'll be okay. If everyone finds out the truth, finds out how boring we actually are, maybe they'll just back off."

"Stephanie…you're going to talk me into this, aren't you?"

"I'm just doing what I think is best for everyone. I just think if the public, if the celebrity mongers know what's going on, know that we're working on things, that things aren't dramatic as they appear to be, then they'll leave us alone for sheer lack of anything interesting about us."

"They're going to want to know about our wedding, which I think was the original topic of discussion," he chuckled since they were so far removed from setting a wedding date.

"We'll have security there," Stephanie said, "I know that I want the girls as flower girls, well, maybe Keagan can be the flower girl and Ferris can be a junior bridesmaid or something. They will definitely be in the wedding. They'll be so excited. They can help me pick out my dress and everything. I'm going to go pretty conservative, no princess dresses like last time, I'm thinking a sheath dress will probably be best."

"And I will pretend like I know what that is."

"I figured you've dated enough models you would know more about fashion than I do."

"You would think that, but you'd be wrong, nobody ever captured my attention like you did," he kissed her, "I mean, you're still the only girl I've ever written songs about, though maybe I should write one for the girls."

"Now you're just being ridiculously cute," Stephanie nuzzled her nose against his. "We'll figure this all out, Chris, the girls, the wedding, the paparazzi."

"Thanks for putting up with it."

"Thanks for putting up with my issues."

"How about six months from now?" he asked her.

"For the wedding?"

"Yeah, six months, how does that sound?" he asked expectantly. The sooner he was married to this woman, the better to him.

"It sounds perfect."


	65. Chapter 65

"Don't make us regret this."

"Are you kidding me?" Brad said, his eyes already wide with the endless possibilities floating through his head. "Regret this? You are going to love me for this. Oh my God, I don't even know where to start!"

"Okay, down boy," Chris told him, "I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm doing this because I want everyone off our backs. I'm sick and tired of the damn media following me and trying to find out everything about me when all I want is privacy. I'm doing this so that it'll all calm down."

"What Chris is saying is that we're trying to protect our own," Stephanie explained. "I was the one that talked him into this. Chris wasn't the one who wanted to talk to any of the press, but I thought it would be better to just get it out there."

"I agree with you," Brad told her and Stephanie shook her head a little. She knew that as an agent, this would be a coup for Brad and while she liked the guy, like Chris did, there was shark underneath it all. Chris was a huge client and this would generate some huge revenue because different stations would be bidding for the rights to an interview.

"But it's going to be on _our_ terms," Stephanie said firmly.

"Yes," Chris agreed, "we get to choose who we talk to once you put it out there that we're willing to give an interview, we get to approve what's talked about, the girls are not to be shown in photographs or in the interview. We're willing to be open, but we're not willing to put ourselves on display."

"Of course all this can be arranged," Brad nodded eagerly. He was ready to get out there and get this into motion. "People want to talk to you, Chris. They want to know what you're willing to say. This is going to work out great and I'm sure people will be accommodating."

"Good, that's what we want," Stephanie said.

"Would you be willing to have some of your family interviewed, not the girls, but like, your parents or your brother, Stephanie," he addressed both of them. The more people willing to talk might be better.

"I think it's best if it's just us," Chris said and looked to Stephanie to see if she agreed with that. She nodded and smiled at him, squeezing his hand under the table. He squeezed it back in acknowledgement. "I just don't want our families to feel like they're being coerced into this."

"That's a good point," Stephanie said, "I think it should just be us. It'll be better that way, I think."

"That's fine," Brad said. "You know, we should probably get some footage of you with the band, that would be really killer for any kind of interview and you're going back to wrestling soon, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Chris said. He hadn't gone back to wrestling yet, but it was always in the back of his mind. He'd talked with Vince about it and what kind of capacity he wanted to come back in, but nothing had been really set in stone. There was obviously WrestleMania, which would probably be the best venue, but they really needed the element of surprise because it was no secret he was with Stephanie now so the internet had been buzzing about when Chris would make his return because it seemed inevitable.

He couldn't wait to go back though. For all the success he had with Fozzy, the WWE had always been his first love and it was nice to get back there. There was a certain kind of anonymity that came with the wrestling business and he'd be remiss if he didn't say he missed that. If he had never made it so big with Fozzy, he wouldn't have to sit here discussing a major interview just to get people off their backs.

"Okay, well, if that's any time soon, that would be good too."

"We haven't really discussed it in depth," Chris told him.

"That's fine, no worries," Brad said. "Okay, well, I'll leave you guys alone because I now have a lot of work to do and I'm almost positive the bids are going to start pouring in. I'll keep you abreast of all possibilities so you can decide which one is best for you."

"Also, whatever profit we make, minus yours of course, we want to donate it to charity," Chris said, "so I mean, you can go as high as you want, but whatever we make, we're giving it away."

Brad's brain started turning a little faster. This was going to look great in the tabloids. Not only were Chris and Stephanie going to do this interview, now they were donating what was probably going to be a huge amount to charity. They were going to be media darlings. He was going to have to start getting them out there on the red carpet because the public was bound to love them. They could be the new "it" couple. The thought excited him.

"That's fine, I'm sure that people will love that," he said, trying to contain his excitement. "I better go and start the wheels turning. I hope you guys have a great afternoon and I'll be in touch."

"I'm sure you will be," Chris said as he shook Brad's hand and then Stephanie did the same. When they were alone again, Chris turned to his fiancée. "I think he was about to have a heart attack from being so excited."

"I think you're right," Stephanie laughed. "He was practically drooling."

"No kidding," Chris laughed too.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this? I know it wasn't your idea and I just want to make sure you're okay with doing this. I know your privacy means a lot to you," she said, just wanting to make sure Chris wasn't doing this just for her. She would still love him for it if that was the case, but still, she wanted him to be at least a little complicit in it.

"No, I want to, I think you're right in that we can't just hide ourselves away, not with who I am," Chris said. "Fame is a stupid, fickle thing and sometimes I hate it so much, but with success comes this kind of thing and I have to learn to live with that too."

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "I just don't want you to feel like you _have _to do this to make me happy or something ridiculous like that. You make me happy, not some interview, just so you know and understand that."

"Babe, I know," Chris nodded. "I want to do this because I don't want our girls to be hounded for the rest of their lives. I want to get it out there, especially what happened with Ferris. I don't want her growing up, looking online and getting the wrong information or information that would hurt her. I want her to know the truth and know that we went out there and acknowledged the truth for her."

"You're a great father," Stephanie told him.

"I haven't been doing it for too long," he reminded her.

"Doesn't matter, you can tell a great father when you see one," Stephanie said, "putting her and Keagan first is just one of the reasons you're such a great father. They're lucky to have you in their lives."

"Thanks," he said, looking down.

"And any other ones are going to be lucky too," she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So…we really haven't discussed when you're actually come _back_ to wrestling. I think it's something we should probably talk about, yes?"

"Yeah, your father keeps pushing it back because the rumors start up about me returning and he wants it to be a complete surprise. I'm going to talk to him about a really limited schedule though. I don't really want to go back into the ring except on very special occasions so I won't be doing house shows. I want to be at home as much as possible."

"I'd like that," Stephanie said. "I really hope that we can figure this all out."

"Don't worry, we will."

It didn't take long for Brad to start receiving bids for the interview. Chris and Stephanie reviewed them all and were surprised by how much people wanted to interview them. Some of the bids were astronomical and it was crazy to the two of them that people wanted to watch them so much. The Ferris news had really made them a great catch. They eventually decided the best way to go would be Diane Sawyer. She was professional and she seemed kind when interviewing people. If Oprah were still producing her show, they might have chosen her, but this seemed the next best option. The next thing Chris and Stephanie had to do was compile a list of things they were willing to talk about and things they weren't willing to talk about, which set off an interesting discussion.

"Okay, so do you want the interview at the house?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know, do you?"

"It would feel more personal if we did," Stephanie said. "We could maybe do that whole walking around the premise thing that they always seem to do in these kinds of interviews, showing off the backyard, maybe the downstairs, avoiding anything too personal and then we could just do the interview in the living room or something, homey and relatable."

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you'd done this before," Chris joked.

"When you're in charge of storylines as long as I've been, you learn a thing or two," Stephanie said, "I want to try and skim over us sleeping together in the past as much as we can. I just don't feel like discussing that in a lot of detail. You?"

"I can understand that, you were technically still married, but I want it known that you were separated at the time."

"What if they want to talk to Hunter?"

"No, that's an absolute no," Chris shook his head vehemently. "I don't want him anywhere near this."

"Chris, I don't want to talk badly about him, I really don't," Stephanie bit her lip. Hunter was still the father of Keagan and though he had been a jackass for a long time, he was really trying now and she didn't want to suffer a setback because he was offended about different things they said about him in the interview.

"I'm not saying we're going to talk badly about him, I just don't want him to be interviewed. I won't shed him in a bad light. I concede that he's really making an effort in all of this. He's been really good to the girls and I can't knock him for that."

"Good, because he is trying."

"Part of me thinks he still has an agenda."

"He's shown that he really hasn't any new agenda. I think he's being genuine this time. He's really trying to get his life on track again and I admire him for that," Stephanie said, hoping this wouldn't offend Chris. "I'm almost proud of him…I would be if I cared much for him. He's really only Keagan's father at this point. It's hard to muster up a lot of feeling for him personally after everything he's done to us."

"I understand," Chris said, "So a lot of what we want to talk about is how we're doing now, right?"

"Yeah, I like to think that we can talk about how great we are for a while and what's ahead for us in the future."

"So how are we doing?" Chris asked cheekily.

Stephanie thought they were all coming together. It might not be this perfect family, but it was their family, all of them, Hunter included. They were not conventional, but there was love there. There were fights, but there were good times, there were ups and downs just like any other family. She was happy though, happy with where they were settling and happy with where their future was going. Chris was coming back to wrestling, her job was great, the girls were doing wonderfully. She could hardly find anything to complain about at the moment.

"I'd say we're doing great."


	66. Chapter 66

Chris looked over the offers on the table. It seemed that everyone and their mother wanted to get the interview with him and Stephanie. If he didn't hate the idea of the entire thing, he would be kind of flattered. As it was though, he just wanted to get the truth out there so he and Stephanie could move on with their lives and the girls. This seemed to be a necessary evil and he kind of hated the celebrity of it all. He couldn't even go to the store without some paparazzi finding him so he couldn't go with the girls because he wanted to maintain their privacy.

He heard a little sound by the door and he looked up and saw Ferris in the doorway, giving him a little smile, "Hey, Bueller, what's up?"

"Nothing," Ferris shrugged, "I was just seeing what you were doing, are you busy?"

"Never for you," he smiled, beckoning her over with a nod of the head. Ferris bounded over and stood next to his chair. He reached out and pulled her into her lap, giving her a kiss on the forehead, which she giggled at. She leaned against him and once again, Chris couldn't believe this dynamic little girl was actually his.

Sometime he caught himself looking at her with this air of wonder. She was so perfect in every way. Of course, she wasn't, realistically speaking, but to him, there was nothing more perfect in this world and he'd had a hand in that, albeit for a long time that hand had only been biological, but whatever it was, this little girl was his and would be for the rest of his life and he couldn't feel more lucky or proud of that achievement.

"What're you doing?" Ferris asked sweetly, looking over at Chris's desk and peering at what was on it.

"I'm trying to decide who I want to do an interview with," he explained to her, pulling a couple of the papers closer, "your mom and I are going to go on TV and we're going to do an interview and answer questions."

"Like at school?" Ferris asked.

"Not really, these are more questions about our lives and things like that, like how we're doing and everything," Chris said, "lots of people want to interview us so I have to pick out who I think would be best for the job, like when your mom decides who she wants to give a push to, she has to weigh all the options before deciding.

"So you're trying to decide which person is the best?"

"Exactly," he told her.

"Will Keegs and I be on the interview too?" Ferris wondered. She'd never done an interview before and the thought didn't really appeal to her. She didn't want to be on TV, that's where lots of people could see her and she didn't think she's want all those people watching her, even if she couldn't see them. She'd rather stay behind the camera and not be in front of it.

"No, it'll just be me and your mom," Chris told her, "we want to make it so it's just us, but we want to do it because we want to get it out there how we're doing since we found out I'm your daddy and how everything is going. That's all."

"Why do people want to know that?"

Chris sighed. He didn't quite know how to answer that. People were nosy was the simplest answer. People were always fishing for the next piece of celebrity gossip and whenever something juicy came up, they wanted to know all the details even though more times than not, it was none of their business. But apparently being in the spotlight meant it was their business, even as a little girl struggled to get used to all the huge changes happening in her life. He wanted to shelter Ferris from it all, just make it all disappear for her sake, make sure nobody ever got to her.

"Well, you know how I have Fozzy?"

"Yes, I do, of course," Ferris said, grinning at her father, "that's your band and you're really, really good. I remember seeing you, we should go to one of your concerts again, I think that would be a lot of fun."

"I think it would be fun too, we'll have to ask your mom if you can come on tour with us over the summer, you and your sister and your mom can travel with me and we can go all over the place and sight-see and you can see all those great historical sites, I know you love history," he said, smiling a little at how smart his daughter was. He wanted to claim those genes, but he knew they really came from Stephanie.

"I'd like that."

"Well, anyways, Fozzy is a really huge band and the members of the band, myself included, we're famous, you know, where everyone wants to know what we're doing."

"Okay," Ferris nodded.

"Well, because of that, people want to know what's going on in my life, everything. I don't really like it, especially not right now since we're both still getting used to the idea of me being your daddy-"

Ferris shrugged, "I kind of like you being my daddy, you're always here and that's good. I like it because you're around and you're even kind of like a daddy to Keagan even though I know that…uh…Hunter is her daddy. You love her like you were her daddy."

"I do, I love both of you the same exact way, nobody is better in my mind, I love you both," he reiterated. He didn't want either one of them thinking that he favored Ferris because she was his biological daughter. He loved his little spitfire, Keagan, and he always would. "People just want to know things and they want to see pictures of you and your mommy and I don't want that for you right now."

"Pictures of _me_?" Ferris asked, her brow knitting together. "Why do people want pictures of me? I don't do anything, I just go to school."

"I know that, Mommy knows that, Grandma and Grandpa know that, even Keagan knows that," Chris joked, winking at her, "but all my fans will want to see you because you're my daughter, it just happens when you have someone famous who is related to you. We just want you to be able to be a kid and that's why we're going to do the interview."

"So it's for me?"

"It's to benefit you and to benefit Keagan as well. Hopefully, when everyone knows how great we're doing, they'll lay off of us and then we won't have to worry about people following us with cameras trying to take our pictures because that just gets annoying."

"I bet it does," Ferris said, then leaned over to look at the papers in front of her. She looked at the pictures included in the different portfolios. She spotted the picture of Diane Sawyer and she liked the way she looked. She seemed nice and friendly, "I like her."

"You do?"

"She looks the nicest out of all the pictures in there," Ferris nodded, "I think you should do your interview with her."

"Well, if that's what you want, I think that's what we'll do," he told her. He figured that his daughter had good judgment and either way, the interview was going to be on Chris and Stephanie's terms so it didn't really matter who was doing the interviewing.

"Um, Daddy," she said, while still tentative about saying the word. It was still difficult for her to remember that he was her daddy and she should address him appropriately. Every time she said it, though, it did get easier so she just had to keep saying it.

"Yeah?" he asked her, never tiring of her calling him Daddy.

"Do you…" She didn't really know how to proceed with what she wanted to ask and she took a sigh. "Do you think that Hunter really likes spending time with me still? I mean, you're doing your interview and he's not my daddy anymore and maybe he's…maybe he's going to be really sad and not want to see me anymore and I still like seeing him."

"Oh, Bueller," he hugged her to him and she banded her arms around him as best she could as he rested his cheek on her hair.

"I know he's not my daddy and everything, I know that," Ferris said, just to make sure her real daddy knew that, "but I still like seeing him when he's nice and he was gone for so long and everything and I don't want him to hate me."

"Bueller, he could never hate you and I think this interview will help all of us try and move on. Hunter is trying to be a better man and a better father to Keagan and also to you. He might not be your daddy like that anymore, but he's still a very important person in your life and he's really trying hard to make it up to you and Keagan."

"I just don't want him to hate me."

"He could never, nobody could ever hate you," he told her and he meant it. She was such a sweet girl, always thinking of everyone's feelings. "Hunter is going to understand about the interview because we're going to talk with him about it beforehand. He's definitely going to have a voice in all of it and we're not going to make him angry with it."

He and Stephanie had decided to come up with some topics they were willing to discuss and they were going to go over the list with Hunter to make sure that he was okay with what was being said. They didn't want him part of the interview since they wanted to be as broad as possible and they didn't trust Hunter not to air something he really shouldn't (Chris was still wary of him and with good reason, this was Hunter; he was unpredictable). Still, they wanted his input on what they could say about him and if he didn't want to be included by name, they would work around him appropriately.

"Okay," Ferris said in a small voice, "as long as he's not mad."

"We promise, he won't be," Chris told her, "don't worry about any of this, Bueller, you just keep being you and everything will work itself out."

"Are you and Mommy going to have another baby?"

"You are just full of questions today, aren't you?" he asked good-naturedly.

"I like to know things," she giggled as she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. She was back to feeling better after Chris's reassurances. She really wanted to spend time with Chris because she liked him and she liked that he was her daddy, even if it meant that Hunter wasn't her daddy anymore. She kind of wanted to know everything about him that she didn't.

"Well, I don't know about right now, but maybe after we're married we might have one, you'd like another little brother or sister, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool to have a baby here," Ferris said, "I think Keagan would like it too, we could help you and Mommy."

"I would hope so, we'd need the help," he told her with a nod. Babies were the furthest thing from his mind, but when he did think about them, he couldn't say they were necessarily a bad thing. He'd never gotten to do the baby thing so having a baby around would be a whole new experience for him.

"Would you…would you love it more than us?" Ferris asked. "I mean, just because you'd have it _forever_ since it was a baby."

"Not a chance," Chris shook his head. "Hey, you know, with all the questions, you know what you're doing?"

"What?"

"You're helping me with how I'm going to handle the interview."

"Really?" Ferris beamed. She was actually helping.

"Now I know I'm going to give a great interview," he told her and watched as she puffed with pride at that. Yes, in the end, this interview was the right thing…or at least he hoped it would be. Everything would be out there and they'd be home free. His children would be safe and away from the public's prying eyes.

That was the most important thing.


	67. Chapter 67

A/N: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"Who said I didn't want to," Chris told her, "I never said that I didn't want to go with you. I wanted to go with you."

"I just think that maybe…it might be uncomfortable for you and I'm saying that I am willing to go see him without you, which might be the better situation if we're being honest," Stephanie told him tentatively. She didn't want to come right out and say that it was probably a better idea if she didn't take him to meet Hunter about the interview. She didn't want a confrontation and while everyone seemed to be civil, she didn't know what it would take for those tides to turn drastically.

She knew the situation was still extremely sensitive and she didn't want to rush things. She knew that Chris and Hunter would have to at least acknowledge each other for the rest of their lives because they both shared children with her. She just didn't think that now was the time to try and smooth things over, when things were still so fresh, wounds not completely healed. She didn't want to exacerbate the situation by having the two of them go at each other.

"What?" Chris asked critically. "You don't think I'll be able to handle myself around him? What do you think is going to happen between us?"

"Chris, please, I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, that's the last thing I want right now. I just think that maybe, just _maybe_, it might not be the best thing for you to see each other right now. I know that you're still mad at him for treating the girls like he did and I don't blame you for that. I'm still mad too, but I understand that I can't hold onto that forever if I'm ever going to have a relationship with him for Keagan's sake."

"He's just a jerk, that's all," Chris said.

Stephanie nodded and reached out to grab his hand, "I know, I was with the man, I'm one of the people that he left behind without a second glance. I know how big a jerk he can be, I dealt with it for so long, but the girls love him, Chris. For them, we have to act civilly and I know that might take some time for you because you're a bit of a hothead."

"You know, when we first met back up," Chris looked at their clasped hands, "you know what Keagan told me?"

"I don't know," Stephanie responded, "we've never actually talked much about what happened. You'd think we actually would have talked about that. Do you want to tell me? I'd love to know how you found my little girl."

Chris chuckled softly as he thought back to that day. It was probably one of the best days of his life. He'd never expected to meet up with Stephanie again and that had been the catalyst for all this. He never thought that when he saw that lost little girl that he would end up with a fiancée, a daughter, and a stepdaughter-to-be. Everything was set off from that one moment.

"I was doing an interview," he told her, "and I was getting ready to leave the park, trying not to be noticed. I had the hat and the sunglasses, you saw that, because I didn't want to be swarmed. They'd offered to let me out one of the back exits, but I guess I just wanted to see all the happy people so I decided to walk through the park. Then I saw this little girl who was wandering around, looking around her and nobody seemed to stop for her."

It bothered Stephanie that nobody would help her little girl, but then she thought about what kind of person might do that and what if that person had taken her. She didn't want to think about that. It was her worst nightmare, her girls being taken from her. She would rather die than see anything happen to her daughters.

"So I went over to her and asked if she was lost. She said she was and that she shouldn't talk to strangers, I think that's what she said…wait, yeah, that's what she said because I introduced myself so we wouldn't be strangers. Then she introduced herself and she told me her name was Keagan Helmsley and then she said your names and it just clicked that she was your daughter," Chris mused while Stephanie smiled, thinking about how Chris must have felt when he realized he should know this little girl. "She said you were going to buy her candy or something and I knew that staying in one place was the best idea for us so you could find her and so we bought the candy apples. Then I asked her how you were doing and she said you were sad sometimes because her daddy was an asshole."

Stephanie nearly choked on her own spit, "She said what?"

"She said she'd heard you call Hunter an asshole and she thought it was funny," Chris said. "I mean, she's just a little kid, almost still a baby and that's what she told me. His jerky behavior was far-reaching, Steph. Even Keagan could see it."

"I shouldn't have said things like that around her, that was my fault," Stephanie shook her head. She can't believe Keagan had picked up swearing from her. "I shouldn't have let her hear that. I know that Hunter has been a jerk, but she doesn't deserve to think of her father in that manner."

"I don't think she knew what it meant," Chris said, "but the fact is that he has been and I want to be there."

"No," Stephanie shook her head again. "Chris, I know you. I know you're going to let things get out of hand and Hunter is not one to stop things like that from happening and with the two of you…I don't want to risk it."

"It wouldn't be a risk," he argued.

"Except it would be," Stephanie intoned. "Look, just because we're…or I'm getting along with Hunter right now doesn't mean that old pettiness isn't inside of his head. If we do or say anything wrong, he can turn around and tell 'his side' of the story and who knows how that may be. Do you really think some tabloid or trashy show isn't going to want him to do an interview and tell them all our dirty secrets?"

"I have nothing to hide," Chris told her.

"Yes, we do, our entire lives. I don't want to ruin the way things are right now. I don't want you to do something that drives him to be that asshole again," Stephanie told him. "Please, just let me handle this."

"Stephanie, I'm not going to back down on this one. We're all in this, all three of us and I should get a say and I should have a voice and I appreciate that you want to be my voice, but that's not going to change how I feel," he told her, but then included, "I will be on my best behavior. I will not start anything."

"You don't know that you won't."

"I promise you that I won't," he said, but she looked at him dubiously. He sighed and grabbed her hand, kissing her palm. "Stephanie, I love those girls so much. You can't even quantify it, it's so much. Ferris is my daughter, but Keagan might as well be mine too. I would never do anything to jeopardize their happiness. If that means I have to get along with Hunter, I'm willing to do so."

"I just don't want a scene, okay?"

"I promise, I won't make a scene, I'll be the picture of virtue. I won't do anything," he held his hand up in promise.

"Okay, fine, but I'm telling you right now, if you try to pull something…"

"I won't," he interjected. "Come on, let's get the girls ready."

Since Stephanie and Chris were going over to Hunter's to talk with him, they decided to bring Ferris and Keagan with them and let Hunter spend the rest of the day with him. Their arrangement seemed to be working out so far and Stephanie was glad to see that Hunter really was taking an interest in Keagan's life and Ferris's as well. Hunter recognized that Ferris was a sensitive soul and would hate to think anyone could not like her. He and Shayna were going to take the girls out to dinner and then back to Chris and Stephanie's house.

"Hi," Shayna said as she opened the door to the townhouse Hunter had rented in the area. He was looking for a new home because he wanted to be closer to his daughter and Stephanie encouraged the move. "Hey, girls, it's great to see you again."

"Hi!" Keagan bounded inside and looked around, "Where's Daddy?"

"He's in the kitchen, we bought some cookies if you want to come with me and get some, is that okay with you, Stephanie?" Shayna asked, looking up at their mother. She didn't want to overstep her boundaries and she was really trying hard to fit in with this family and not feel like the mistress any longer. It helped that Stephanie had Chris, but she still felt that surge of unease whenever Stephanie looked at her.

"Yeah, they just had lunch so they can have some dessert," Stephanie said cordially.

"I'll send Hunter out and I'll look after the girls so you can talk," Shayna told them, "It's nice to see you again, Chris."

"You too," he said politely. So far so good. Shayna disappeared with the girls into the kitchen while Stephanie and Chris stood awkwardly in the foyer. Hunter came out a few minutes later, wiping his hands off on his jeans as he saw them, nodding. He sent a small smile in Stephanie's direction and a glance in Chris's direction. Chris could tell Hunter was trying to keep his face neutral, but it was a lot of work for him to do so.

"Hey, Hunter, thanks for agreeing to meet with us," Stephanie said. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Sure, I have an office," he said, leading them down a short hallway to a small room that was serving as his office. There wasn't much in there besides a desk and a couple chairs, but it was private enough. Hunter took the seat behind the desk while Stephanie and Chris took a chair each. "So this is about that interview you wanted to do."

"Yes, that's right," Stephanie told him. "We actually need to meet with our lawyers, both of ours to really discuss it. I contacted them yesterday to see how to proceed and if we needed to contact them over this and they said we did, but I wanted to come to you first."

"Thanks," he told her. "I was hoping that I wasn't going to get blindsided by this interview. I'd heard around about it of course, you can barely open a magazine nowadays without something about you guys…us all really."

"I know, that's why we're doing this in the first place," Stephanie said, "we want to make sure that _our_voices get heard and that the truth is out there and not the fabricated truth of the tabloids. It's just getting worse with the internet as well and I don't want lies to be spread around about our kids."

"I don't either, I want to protect them," Hunter said. "Both of them."

"We want that too," Chris said and he didn't know what Hunter meant when he said both of them. It almost sounded territorial, like Ferris was still his daughter, but Chris had promised Stephanie he wasn't going to cause a scene and with his daughter and Keagan in the vicinity, he was going to do his damnedest to keep that promise.

"Good," Hunter said, "so what did you need from me? Why do the lawyers have to be involved?"

"Well, obviously, we're going to talk about you," Stephanie told him, "but I wanted you to know what was going to be said first. Chris and I are coming up with subjects we'd be willing to talk about. We want to talk about you, but we don't want to do it without your permission."

"What are you going to say about me? Let me guess, you want to talk all about how lousy a father I am," Hunter was now looking at Chris and Chris had to bite his tongue. Hunter was trying to bait him. While Hunter might have his daughter's best interest at heart, he had no love lost for Chris.

"No, not at all, I just want to say that we were divorced and that when we conceived Ferris, we were separated, just the truth, we want to get the truth out there. I'm willing and so is Chris not to mention how things were," Stephanie told him. "I don't want to cause animosity with this interview."

"We also want to make sure you don't go and give your own interview," Chris said. "We don't need you embellishing things. We want to get the truth out there."

"Don't you think my voice should be heard instead of being that other guy who Stephanie was married to?" Hunter asked.

"Of course we want your voice to be heard, but we don't think it's the best idea to do so in some other form. Our lawyer suggested that you get a segment and that you get to watch the rest of the interview. We know that you could sue us for slander so we want to curb that and have you present so you can see what we're saying and know that it is without the intention to hurt you. Our lawyer also said if you get a small portion, we can work together so that nobody comes out looking like the bad guy and that our girls can see that we are trying to work on things as adults."

"I wouldn't mind that," Hunter said, realizing they were giving him a lot more than he thought they were going to give. They could have just went out there and talked about him, but this seemed like a fair deal.

"Like it or not, we're a family," Stephanie said, glancing between Chris and Hunter. "We are all a family. You two are the father to my daughters and for that, I will always love you both. You have given me two girls who I am proud of and who I love and I know the both of you love them as well. We have to work together for them. We have to get over these petty fights and jealousies. I know that our lives have not always been smooth, but there are two little girls out there who need us to get along. That's all I'm asking for here."

Stephanie said it with such sincerity that Chris felt the need to show her that he was just as serious about this. So he decided in that moment that he had to bury the past. It would do no use to bring it up time and time again. No matter his personal feelings towards Hunter, Stephanie was right, they were family now, a weird amalgamation of a family, bits and pieces that didn't quite fit, but were shoved together until they did. He stood up and took the step over to Hunter's desk, extending his hand in a show of solidarity. He would do anything for Ferris and Keagan and he only hoped that Hunter would do the same. Hunter stared at his hand for a moment before he let out a sigh and held out his hand as well.

Then they shook on it.


	68. Chapter 68

"Mommy, can we get pudding?"

"Huh?" Stephanie asked as she looked at Keagan from the cereal box she was perusing. "What did you say, Keags?"

"Can I get pudding?" Keagan asked sweetly, giving her mother a grin that spoke to how charming she was trying to be. Stephanie laughed at her daughter's face while nodding her head. "Yay!" Keagan cheered, right there in the middle of the aisle, causing a couple of people sharing the aisle to look over at them. Keagan had no tact so she didn't care what other people heard.

"Just wait until I get some cereal then we can get your pudding," Stephanie said as she turned to make sure Ferris was still looking at the cereal just a short ways away. "Fer, did you pick what you want yet?"

"I want this one," Ferris said, bounding over with the box. "I like this one."

"Okay, and you're sure you'll eat these?" Stephanie asked, eyeing the Honey Nut Cheerios. She had too many boxes of cereal that sat there until she and Chris had to finish it themselves. Ferris nodded eagerly so Stephanie put it in the basket. Stephanie put her Frosted Mini-Wheats in the cart as they went to get Keagan's pudding.

When they were finished with their shopping, and the bags were in the cart ready to be brought back to the car, Stephanie and the girls stepped out into the afternoon sun, the girls each hanging off a side of the cart as Stephanie went to their car. What she wasn't expecting was a few paparazzi coming out of nowhere and rushing up towards her. Stephanie was startled at first as cameras started to flash at them.

"Stephanie McMahon, is it true you and Chris Jericho are planning a fall wedding?" one of them asked her as she tried to duck away from another camera.

"What was it like finding out your daughter was really Chris's?" another asked.

"What, I'm sorry," Stephanie said, trying to get out of the way. Keagan and Ferris didn't know what was going on, only that there was suddenly a group of people around them. "Can you…"

"Are you with Chris Jericho for his money?" someone asked and Stephanie looked at them in confusion. Even with all of Chris's wealth, which was considerable, she was still worth more than he was.

"No, what, no," she stuttered as she tried to push through this crowd. Some of the photographers were even trying to take pictures of her groceries. This was getting ridiculous.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Ferris asked frightfully, not liking the press of people around her. She wasn't one for large groups to begin with, but this was downright scary. She didn't know what was going on or why these people really wanted her pictures.

"Is this Chris's daughter?" someone asked.

"Please, could you just give us some room," Stephanie said.

"Ferris, are you happy that Chris Jericho is your father?" one of the paparazzi asked, and that was the last straw for Stephanie.

It was one thing to start bombarding her with questions. She was Chris's fiancée and knew there was going to be attention put on her because of that. Chris was an immensely popular figure, and being such a bachelor, the idea of him getting married titillated the press to the point where every magazine was talking about their engagement. It was an entirely other thing to start harassing her daughter, asking her to answer questions when Ferris was still trying to navigate the adjustment to Chris being her father.

She grabbed Ferris and Keagan, pressing them against her, before leaning down to whisper to her, "I want you to just hide your faces against my shirt, okay? We're going to walk straight to the car, and I want you to immediately get inside."

"Okay," Ferris and Keagan whispered.

Stephanie stood straight up and stared the people around her down, "I'm not fielding any questions right now, I'm sorry."

She started pushing through the crowd of people, nearly racing to her car. The girls obeyed her, shielding their faces away from the people who were trying to take their pictures. The group followed her, but Stephanie had a single mind determination going on right now. She plowed through the parking lot, getting the doors open and letting the girls climb inside. She was so thankful she'd opted for the tinted windows because it provided a barrier for the girls.

"Babies, just duck your head until we're on the road, okay?" Stephanie told them, and they both nodded as they looked down. "Good girls."

Stephanie nearly threw the groceries into the front seat, not even bothering with the trunk. She went to the driver's side, throwing open her door and closing it quickly. The paparazzi were standing back, taking pictures of her car. She was able to get out of her spot and quickly got out of the parking lot. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was on the open road, but she wasn't going to chance it. She took backroads, backtracking, and then going different ways, just in case anyone was following her.

"Mommy, who were those people?" Ferris finally got the courage to ask.

"Yeah, who were they?" Keagan asked. "Why did they want my picture?"

"They were just people who want to put your pictures in their magazines," Stephanie explained to them.

"But then why were you so mad about it?" Keagan asked.

"Because they didn't ask permission," Stephanie told them. "That's what you should do when you want to take someone's picture. You should ask them if that's what you want to happen. If it's not, they shouldn't take it."

"But why would they come at a grocery store?" Ferris asked, thinking that was weird. "Why were they asking me so many questions?"

"It's because your daddy is famous, Fer," Stephanie said, "he's very, very famous. A lot of people want to know everything about his life. That's why we're going to do that interview, but people can't wait for that so they want to see things about our lives."

"Oh," Ferris said with a frown. She wasn't sure she liked that kind of attention. "Does Chris…I mean, does Daddy have this happen to him a lot?"

"Yeah, he does," Stephanie said, "there are a lot of people who want to see what your daddy is doing when he's not performing on stage."

"I don't like it," Ferris admitted. "I didn't like it at all, Mommy."

"I know, sweetheart," Stephanie said, glancing at Ferris through the rearview mirror. Ferris did look honestly worried about this happening again, and Stephanie didn't blame her. When she'd first seen the paparazzi, she'd been startled by their sudden appearance. She didn't want their lives to be like this. They'd done a good job thus far keeping the girls away from it, but it seemed like those days were over. "We just have to wait for everything to blow over then nobody will want to follow us."

She really hoped that was true.

"Hey, you guys, what took you so long, I thought you were just going to the store," Chris said as he helped Stephanie get the bags out of the car, bringing them into the house.

"We were bombarded by the paparazzi," Stephanie said wearily as the girls went inside and presumably upstairs to play.

"They what?" Chris asked, looking at her incredulously. It wasn't that he didn't think they would have paparazzi who wanted to take pictures, but he wasn't expecting it so soon. Oh, who was he kidding, he'd always been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"We were walking out of the supermarket and a bunch of them just come out of nowhere, start taking pictures, asking me questions, asking _Ferris_ questions," Stephanie set the bags down and ran a hand over her face. "It was a nightmare. The girls were scared, they were taking pictures of our groceries. We couldn't escape them."

"Oh, Steph," Chris said, putting his own bags down so he could wrap his arms around Stephanie. "I'm so, so sorry this happened to you."

"The girls were so scared," Stephanie shook her head against Chris's chest. "They had no clue what was going on, and they were just so scared. I couldn't do anything either. They were in a circle around us. I finally had to tell them to press their faces against me so we could get to the car. They probably got pictures of them though."

"Damn it," Chris said, pulling away from Stephanie in frustration, running his hands through his hair. "I didn't want this for them, damn it. I didn't want them to get caught up in this crap!"

"Chris…"

"No, God, if I'd just kept away from you, they wouldn't be in this situation," Chris was frustrated with his inability to keep the ones he loved from being scared, from being thrust into a limelight they didn't want.

"Oh, Chris, honey, no," Stephanie walked up behind him, hugging him around the waist and burying her face into his shirt. "I don't want you to talk like that, okay? I never want to hear you talk about not coming into our lives. You have been so good to us, all of us, from the moment you came back into our lives. You saved my daughter for God's sakes, and you're the father to my other daughter."

"I don't want our daughters scared out of their minds," Chris told her, gripping the counter in front of him. Stephanie smiled into his back when he said _our_ daughters. Chris was so good to them, and she wanted him to know it.

"You can't protect them from everything," she mumbled, "neither can I, but we're doing our best here, Chris."

"Their pictures are going to be in all the damn gossip magazines now," Chris said, "they know Ferris's age, they'll figure out which one she is, and the entire world will know what she looks like. She's not going to have another day to herself for the rest of her life."

"Okay, now you're just being dramatic," Stephanie told him, pulling away from his body so she could look at his face. "Chris, we both knew this was going to happen when we were together. We both knew it would get amped up when we found out Ferris was your daughter. We promised we'd deal with it together, and we'll deal with it. We'll sit Ferris down and tell her everything. We'll let her know what's going on. She's a smart girl, I'm sure she'll even figure out a couple ways to help herself on this front."

"What are we going to tell her?"

"The truth, that people want to see her and from now on, when we go out, there might be people following us, but that we can't help that."

"Damn Hollywood," Chris cursed under his breath. He hated his daughter was going through this.

"She'll adapt, they both will, hell, we all will," Stephanie told him. "It was scary today because we weren't expecting it, but we know now that it could and probably will happen, we're prepared this time."

"Yeah, I guess."

Chris had this instinctive need to protect the three of them. It must have started when he found Keagan that day at DisneyWorld. He'd wanted to protect her from everything. After hearing how Hunter had treated them all, he wanted to protect them again. He was the man of the family, and while he didn't subscribe to antiquated ideas, there was still a little bit of that chivalry still knocking about inside of him. He didn't want the girls to have to worry about this kind of thing. He didn't want them to walk into a supermarket one day and see their own faces plastered over every single one. He wanted to somehow shield them from all of it, make their childhoods as normal as possible. It all seemed kind of hopeless now.

"Hey, look at me," Stephanie said, bringing her palms up to cup his cheeks. She smiled at him before leaning in to kiss him. "It's going to work out, we're all going to be fine. The fervor will die down, it will, and then everything will be normal, and we'll be happy."

Chris was just afraid nothing would ever be normal again.


	69. Chapter 69

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

Stephanie was now hyperaware of the paparazzi every time she went out, regardless if it was with the girls or with Chris or both or anyone really. After that first time, the paparazzi had backed off a little bit. That wasn't to say they weren't there, but they didn't get in her face asking questions. But they were _always_ there. She wasn't used to it. Before, when she'd just been married to Hunter, her life had been private. Now, she was getting her picture taken after getting a smoothie. She usually kept her head down and tried to go about her business, but it was still strange, knowing they were there, watching her with their cameras.

Seeing her face in the tabloids, just going about her everyday business was odd as well. The pictures of the girls had been printed and posted online, but for the most part, they hadn't gotten any good shots of the girls, especially not after they were pressing their faces into Stephanie's shirt. Nowadays, the paparazzi only got far shots of them, but it was still enough to unnerve Stephanie the first time she saw herself walking down the street with the girls. So yes, she was hyperaware of them, and she constantly felt eyes on her.

"Stephanie, you've got to stop looking around."

Stephanie looked apologetically towards her mother. "Sorry, Mom, I'm sorry, I just…I know they're around here somewhere, and it's still just something I have to get used to."

"How are you dealing with that?" Linda asked. She'd been flipping through a magazine at the doctor's office the other day only to see a picture of her daughter and her granddaughters eating ice cream on a bench. She'd been shocked just to see them in their everyday lives spread across a newspaper page.

"I'm dealing," Stephanie shrugged, but Linda could tell the weight of the world was on her at that moment. "I mean, I just have to get used to it. Chris is a huge rock star, he's got huge connections in Hollywood, and I'm just…going to have to get used to it."

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry for all of this."

"It's not your fault, Mom, I mean, it's not really anyone's fault. I wouldn't want to hinder Chris's career. It's not his fault his band became so popular," Stephanie explained. "I'm proud of all he's accomplished, the paparazzi thing is just going to take some getting used to."

"It never used to be like this is my day," Linda shook her head. There was really no excuse for things to be like this. The paparazzi were too intrusive. They shouldn't be allowed to just barge in on people's lives like this, to make them scared to come out of their own homes. They'd even caused accidents and deaths. "You had publicity, yes, but it was never to the point of stalking."

"I know," Stephanie sighed, "but this is life, you know, it's what I signed up for with Chris…and I wouldn't trade him back for anything."

"I know, I'm not blaming Chris, I'm just blaming the situation. Do you guys have a security system set up?"

"Of course," Stephanie answered, "Chris knew we'd need one, not just from the paparazzi, but from fans that might be a little too zealous for their own good. The fence is high and hard to get over anyways, and we have a state-of-the-art system. Chris dealt with this kind of thing at his old house."

"I just worry for you," Linda said, "but if you're going to power through, we're all going to power through. How is Hunter taking everything?"

"Pretty good, actually, I really think he's turned over a new leaf," Stephanie said with relief. "I think having Chris there, having Chris around the girls, well, around Keagan now I guess, I think it kind of lit a fire under him. I'm not saying it was right of him to only want to get involved because Chris was involved, but it's making him change, and I shouldn't question the reasons for that."

"As long as he's trying to make an effort, what about the paparazzi, are they following him?"

"I actually haven't talked to him since it happened. He's been away in California to settle some business before moving back here," Stephanie explained. "He might not have seen it. Hunter isn't one for magazines and tabloids, so I'm not sure he's seen it."

"I think you should tell him then," Linda said, "so he's not blindsided by it. Also, he should know that Keagan might have her picture taken."

"You're right, I just feel like there's this delicate balance right now, and I'm trying so hard to maintain it before everything crumbles again," Stephanie said, wringing her hands a little.

"Okay, right now, I want you to _relax_," Linda told her. "We're not near any windows, nobody can see us, so I want us to enjoy our lunch. I don't want you to think about pictures or paparazzi, or anything else, I just want some mother/daughter time with you. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes," Stephanie nodded resolutely, "yes, I can do that."

Stephanie let her mind push away all the troubling and stressful thoughts as she focused on her lunch with her mother. She was right, sometimes she just needed to let things go or she was never going to enjoy anything ever again. She just had to wait it out. Surely some other scandal would break soon, and she and Chris would be forgotten about. Getting everything out in the open for the interview would be cathartic, and they could move forward knowing that the public knew what they needed to know about the situation.

When she got home, though, it was an entirely different story. Chris was with the girls at the kitchen table, having picked them up from school. Ferris was doing her homework while Chris and Keagan were working on her reading skills, Keagan perched on Chris's lap so they could both read the book at the same time. Stephanie walked into the kitchen and kissed everyone in greeting, letting her lips linger on Chris's cheek for a long moment before she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What are you guys doing?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm doing homework," Ferris explained. "Daddy is helping me with it."

Stephanie didn't let the smile on Chris's face go unnoticed. Every time Ferris referred to him in that way, his eyes would brighten, and she was reminded why the truth had been so important. She wouldn't and couldn't trade back that smile for anything. So what if there were photographers determined to track her every move? She had a man she loved, who, for some crazy reason decided that out of the millions of women he could love, she was somehow worthy of his. Chris let his fingers graze against Stephanie's cheek as she read over his shoulder.

"That's really nice of him," Stephanie smiled at her eldest daughter, "and what are you doing, Miss Keagan?"

"Reading?" Keagan said distractedly. "Do you wanna help?"

"I think I'll let Chris help you since it seems like he's doing such a great job," Stephanie told her as she made a move to straighten up. "I actually have to make a phone call."

"Everything okay?" Chris asked, turning his head to look at her imploringly.

"Yeah, it's fine, I'm just going to call Hunter."

"Daddy!" Keagan exclaimed, turning her head. "I want to talk to Daddy, can I, Mommy, can I, can I, can I?"

"What do we say?" Stephanie asked her sternly.

"Please!" Keagan added.

"Okay, you can, but I have to talk to him first in private, just me and Daddy, okay, but then I'll give you the phone," Stephanie told her and Keagan nodded eagerly. "I'll be right back."

Stephanie grabbed the phone and walked out of the room. She walked down the hallway when she heard Chris behind her, "Hey, Steph, hold up."

She turned around to look at him, "Yeah?"

"Is everything okay? I mean, it's not everyday you just call Hunter out of the blue," Chris said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I mean, I don't mean to pry or anything, I just…I mean, I thought it was a little strange."

"Oh, it's nothing really," Stephanie told him, coming over and pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I just wanted to let him know what happened with the girls and everything, let him know that the paparazzi might seek him out next since he's part of this. I just want to keep him informed."

"I see," Chris said, taking one of his hands out of his pocket and nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"What's wrong?" Stephanie asked. "You can't possibly be jealous, right? I mean, I love you, Chris, I'm going to marry you and everything."

"No, I'm just nervous," Chris told her, squinting his eyes in thought, "I don't, it's hard to put into words, but it's just, I'm nervous that he'll try to use this against us or something. I don't fully trust him yet."

"I don't either, but he still deserves to know."

"No, no, I know," Chris said, "you should call him, you shouldn't waste time talking to me, this is actually important. I wouldn't want him to think that you were keeping this from him, especially since Keagan is his daughter."

"Okay, but it'll be okay, I really think he's changed."

"Yeah, I hope so…I'll leave you to it, you don't need me hanging over your shoulder the entire time," Chris chuckled, but it was mirthless, and Stephanie grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. She tilted her head as she looked at him, conversing with her eyes. "I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I love you," he told her, leaning forward to kiss her. She met him halfway.

"I love you too," Stephanie told him.

Chris walked away and she waited until he was out of sight before she dialed Hunte'rs cell phone number and waited for him to answer. "Hello?" came on the second ring.

"Hunter, hey, it's me."

"Oh, hey, Stephanie, what's up? Did Keagan want to talk to me?" Hunter wondered. "I've got a minute, but I can't really stay long. I'm meeting with the realtor in a little bit to discuss some of the improvements needed on the space."

"Actually, I just needed to talk to you first, Keagan wants to talk to you, but I really needed to speak with you first," she said.

"Okay…what about?" Hunter asked, and she could hear the suspicion in his voice. She was almost glad they were talking on the phone so if he blew up at her, she wouldn't have to actually be there.

"It's the paparazzi. They know where we are, and they've been following us around. I know you don't exactly read those gossip rags, but me, the girls, and Chris have been in a lot of them. We're not doing anything, just going about our everyday business, but the paparazzi is following us now."

"So you mean my daughter's pictures are all over?"

"Yes…"

"I'm going to kill those bastards!" Hunter erupted, but it wasn't at her. "How dare they think they can invade your privacy like that!"

"You…you're not mad at me?" Stephanie asked. "At Chris?"

"Why would I be mad at you guys?" Hunter asked. "It's not like you called them and told them to follow you, right?"

"No, of course not."

"Then it's hardly your fault," Hunter said, "I can't believe they would stoop that low, as if this situation isn't hard enough on everyone as it is, they have to go and make it that much more difficult with this crap."

"Wow…"

"What?" Hunter wondered.

"You have changed," Stephanie whispered, so quietly he almost didn't hear, and probably wouldn't have if he were in the same room as she was.

"I'm trying, Steph."

"You are," Stephanie said. "You really are…thank you."

"No, thank you for protecting the girls, as I'm sure you're doing."

"We're trying," Stephanie sighed, "I just wanted to tell you so you weren't blindsided, but there's also another matter."

"What's that?"

"They're probably going to start following you."


	70. Chapter 70

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy! :)

* * *

The first time Hunter was followed, he almost didn't believe it was actually happening. Stephanie had warned him, yes, but he didn't really think it would come to fruition. So when he went to the post office of all places, he didn't expect to come outside and see a guy standing near his car with a camera. At first, he thought he was some weird tourist, but the man ran up to him, startling Hunter.

"You're Triple H, right?"

"Yeah," Hunter said gruffly, his head down because he really didn't want to talk to these guys. He had no desire to air his personal laundry to the world. Even if he was still angry at Stephanie and Chris, he would never expose his own life to any camera.

"We're from TMZ, mind answering a few questions?"

"No, thank you," Hunter tried to be polite, but he knew, just knew this wasn't going to work. These guys were like leeches. They weren't going to let up just because he asked politely.

"What are your thoughts about your daughter not being your daughter?" he asked, regardless of what Hunter just said. "It must have been a shock, what were your first thoughts? What did you do?"

"None of your business," Hunter said as he pushed towards his car.

"Do you want to beat up Chris Jericho? Is your other daughter yours?" Hunter bit his tongue. He wanted to yell at them, but that's just what they wanted. They wanted him to get angry so they could have headlines for their damn site. He'd seen the kinds of things on their site before, some of the wrestlers he used to work with found their way onto the site.

"Again, none of your business," Hunter entered his car and pulled out quickly to get away from them and not give them the chance to follow him. He shook his head and wondered if this would be his life now. He was trying to turn over a new leaf, but sometimes it was difficult. He was used to his life being somewhat in the limelight, but not so much.

He had to remember that Chris was extremely famous, and this was actual news to his hoards of fans. He'd seen his daughter's pictures on the internet and on the newsstands. He had to walk through a store and see his daughter's face standing there with confusion on his face. He wanted to rip all the magazines from their stands and tear them up right then and there, but he'd refrained, just barely.

He pulled into the driveway to his new condo, the one he'd bought because he wanted to be closer to the girls and grabbed his cell phone. Stephanie answered on the second ring, "Hey, what's up?"

"They found me," Hunter said, and he could hear Stephanie sigh on the other end, "I was just leaving the post office, and there they were, asking me questions. I just wanted to let you know they were after me now too."

Stephanie sighed again, "I'm really sorry about all of this."

"I kind of deserve it," he told her, and she made a sound that came out like a grunt, "No, Stephanie, I really do. I've been thinking about it, and I treated you and the girls like such shit, I kind of deserve all of this."

"That's a load of crap," she told him, "none of us deserve this. It's just how things worked out, but no matter how mad I was at you in the past, that doesn't justify you essentially being stalker or what happened with Ferris. I wish this could all have been resolved at the time, but it wasn't."

"I was a jerk to you, Stephanie, so many times."

"You were," Stephanie said, "but I'm culpable for what's going on now. I didn't realize, and I should have."

"Maybe we should just quit with the pity party," Hunter suggested. "I really just wanted to let you know what was going on with me, and this is what's going on. I'm not planning on talking to them, I don't want any false information to get out there, and I know they'll only twist my words to what they want to hear."

"Thank you," Stephanie said gratefully. "I really appreciate that you're not…well, I think this situation could be a lot worse than it is right now, and I'm just thankful that you're not making it worse."

"I'm thinking about the girls. This is not the kind of life I want for the both of them. I want things to calm down so they can go back to being little girls."

"That's what we all want," Stephanie nodded. "I'll let you get back to the rest of your day, thank you again."

"I'll talk to you later, Stephanie."

Stephanie stared at the phone for a few moments and then looked up at her mother. "Sorry about that, Mom, Hunter just wanted to tell me about the paparazzi got to him."

Linda looked at her daughter sympathetically, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, what did he say about it?"

"He avoided them, he doesn't want them getting any information from him, which is the best thing I think. We just have to keep it to ourselves for a while," Stephanie stood up and walked over to the counter where she'd been helping her mother with dinner. Stephanie felt like it was really time for her family to get comfortable with the idea that Ferris was Chris's daughter.

She knew her parents were disappointed, not because Chris was Ferris's father, but because of the entire situation. She hadn't meant for her life to be like this, but it was, and right now, she needed the support of her family more than ever. She knew Chris's parents were thrilled, but they got a grandchild out of this, so why wouldn't they be? Stephanie just wanted to ease the tension between her family and her fiancé. Her mother would be easy, but her father was going to be tough. She hadn't really discussed the situation with him since it happened, though it occasionally came up when she saw him. Admittedly, she was avoiding him a little bit.

"I'm glad he's finally stepped up and is acting like a man," her mother said with far more bitterness than Stephanie had heard from her.

"Wow, Mom…I don't know how to respond to that."

"You don't have to, I'm just so angry with the way he treated the girls for so long. It doesn't matter that Chris is Ferris's father. For a long time, Ferris believed Hunter was her father, and he treated her like _that_, and he treated Keagan like that as well. It's about time he acts like a father to them. Both of them because I know Ferris still loves Hunter."

"She does, and while Hunter absolutely deserves your ire for what he did, he's been better, he's trying, and that's more than I could have hoped for."

"Only because Chris came into your life."

"I like to think he would have eventually figured out things on his own," Stephanie said weakly, but she couldn't be sure if that would have held true. Her mother wasn't wrong when she said that Chris was probably and most likely the catalyst that sent Hunter back to his daughter, but he was trying so hard now, she believed he would have done it on his own at some point. She just didn't know when that some point would have been.

"Mom, please, he's still going to be in our lives so you don't have to like him, but you have to at least be civil with him, especially right now when things are still so up in the air, that's all I'm asking."

"I'll try, but I can't make a promise like that when I want nothing more than to slap his face," Linda said, while Stephanie laughed in disbelief. "I know you think your father and I are upset about this Chris situation, and that's not to say that we weren't when we heard about it, when you told us, but we like Chris, and he's obviously doing right by you and the girls. Not to mention, we both saw how you were when Hunter left you, and the change Chris brought out of you has been nothing short of a miracle."

"He is pretty great, isn't he?" Stephanie blushed as she thought about her fiancé and how much she loved him.

"He is pretty great," Linda nodded. "I like him, and I like him with you."

"Hey, we're home!" Chris called out into the house.

"Speaking of the devil," Linda said as she went back to taking care of the prep work for dinner that evening. Chris came into the kitchen and smiled at everyone. Keagan was hanging onto his back, looking as happy as a clam.

"Hey, you guys, need any help in here?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, need any help?" Keagan asked, copying Chris.

"No, that's okay, I think we've got this covered," Stephanie smiled, coming over and kissing him then kissing Keagan on the cheek. "You can keep her occupied though, where's Ferris?"

"She's reading the book I bought her at the bookstore."

"I got a book too, Mommy, Chris said that you guys could read it to me, it's really big, and it's full of stories and stuff that are fun, that's what Chris said," Keagan said brightly, thinking about the thick book she'd gotten from Chris when he took them to the bookstore.

"I can't wait to read it," Stephanie said as she smiled at her daughter. The doorbell rang and it sparked a slight tremor in Stephanie's heart. "That should be my dad, I should probably go get that."

"It's cool, I'll go get it," Chris told her. Stephanie gave him a wary look, and he gave her a reassuring one right back. He knew she was worried about what her father was going to say now that they were going to be in the same room together, and not just passing by each other or seeing each other for a few minutes here and there. "Besides, we should talk about when I'm actually going to return because I'm pretty sure that's still on, right?"

"You don't have to do this," Stephanie whispered to him, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"What does Chris not have to do, Mommy?" Keagan asked since she was right there and could hear everything her mommy was saying to Chris.

"Nothing, Keags," Stephanie said, taking her daughter in her arms. "Why don't you go get your book and bring it in here so you could show me and Grandma?"

"Okay," Keagan agreed as Stephanie set her daughter down. Keagan ran out of the room and Stephanie took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Chris quickly, giving him a short hug. He hugged her back and made a move to leave, but she kept him back just a second.

"You guys haven't talked since…I mean, not really," Stephanie told him quietly even though her mother was right there, and her mother was sharp, she would know what Stephanie was doing right now.

"I know, it's okay, I can handle it," Chris encouraged her to let go, reaching down and actually physically removing her arms from around his waist. She longed to pull him back, to shelter her from the storm that was probably brewing in her father. For all her mother's words, she was still afraid of a blow out with her, her father, and Chris. She'd made mistakes, but she didn't want her father to come out and say it. It was already awkward enough as it was.

Chris walked to the front door and pulled the door open, "Hey, Vince, come on in."

"Thank you," Vince said politely as he stepped inside the house. "Where are the girls?"

"They're reading some books in the living room. I took them to a bookstore today," Chris said. And then he decided that he couldn't live like this, thinking about Vince judging him. Chris was not the type of person who would just sit back and let things go unsaid. "I think we should talk, Vince, man to man. I know that you've got a lot on your mind with the recent developments, and I'd like to talk to you about them."

"I want that too."


	71. Chapter 71

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, reads, and everything else. Set-up chapter abounds, but I liked it anyways, hope you do too, review if you feel so inclined! :)

* * *

Chris closed the door behind him.

Vince was already taking a seat on one of the long couches and Chris went ahead and sat across from him. They both sat silently for a few moments as if waiting for the other to make the first move, but neither was taking the bait. Chris tapped his fingers on his knees and tried to figure out what to say to start this conversation. If anything, Vince was protective of his daughter, not that Stephanie ever needed protecting, but he knew the feeling now that he knew about Ferris. It was just this innate need to protect your daughter from everything and anything.

"I really didn't know," Chris started, figuring that he should just dive in. "I really didn't know about Ferris, and if I had, if I had known, I would have made every effort to be her father from the very beginning."

"I know you would have," Vince said, leaning back and finally facing Chris. "I know you've been good to them, but this scandal, it's taken a lot out of everyone, especially because you're so famous, I want what's best for my daughter and my granddaughters, regardless of who their fathers are."

"I know you want that, Vince, I want that too."

"You weren't around when Stephanie was dumped by Hunter," Vince told him. "I'm sure she's told you, hell, I'm sure her mother's told you—"

"Um, not really," Chris shook his head. "I mean, I've heard a little bit here and there, but we're trying to move past that, all of us, so we try not to rehash the past."

"Well, I'm going to tell you now, and you're going to listen because I'm her father," Vince said, and Chris was not intimidate by Vince, but he knew when to shut his mouth and let the man talk. This was obviously something he wanted to get out, something he may need to get out, and who was Chris to take that away from him.

He imagined Vince, Shane, and even Linda wanted to speak their minds to Hunter at some point since he'd left Stephanie. He could imagine the colorful words they would use for him, the fists Shane and Vince would introduce him to, but he also knew Stephanie wouldn't have allowed it. Not his Stephanie, not his wonderful fiancée who wanted to believe the good in people, and did until the absolute breaking point. She would have held them at bay.

"Okay, that's fair," Chris nodded.

"She was broken, she was broken and she didn't know what she did wrong," Vince sucked at his teeth a little bit as if he wanted to punch someone right now, and Chris knew what face was coming into his mind. "I've made mistakes in my past, you know this, everyone knows this. I've pulled what Hunter did, and I felt remorse, I still do, but when I saw what cheating did to my daughter, it was then I really, truly knew what it meant."

"I would never cheat on Stephanie, that's out of the question," Chris iterated because if that's where this was going, Vince was barking up the wrong tree. There was no way Chris would give up something he'd wanted for so long for a fleeting night of…what? Passion? Stephanie gave him more than enough passion. There was no reason in his mind to even contemplate an affair when Stephanie was more than enough for him; she was everything.

"No, no, no, I'm not saying you would, although that is a talk for another time," Vince told him, tucking his head down to look Chris sharply in the eye. "I mean that I knew what it meant to see someone hurt by your own actions. Stephanie was hurting in a way I'd never seen someone hurt. But she had no time to hurt because she had to be there for the girls, who were even more hurt, more confused."

"I would never have wished that on them, if I could have been there sooner…" He wished he could have been. He knew she was divorced, he could have seen, but what excuse could he have had? It was a silly thought to think, but now that they were the loves of his life, he wished he could have been there.

"I know, I just want you to understand that Stephanie deserves the best. After everything, she deserves the best, and this scandal, it's putting my daughter's hurt under a microscope, and I don't want that for her. I've seen the tabloids."

"We're trying to curb them," Chris said, "with the interview. We're getting the truth out there, all of us, Hunter included, then it'll die down. It'll die down, and some new scandal will come along, and we'll live our lives."

"Except you're always going to be in the spotlight. How are you going to handle that? If you and Stephanie have more children, what happens then? I want to know my daughter and granddaughters are taken care of at all times."

"I plan on doing that, I've been doing that, I think, or at least I like to think I've been doing that, I love all of them, I loved all of them before I found out Ferris was mine. They're going to be taken care of because I love them, and I would never hurt them."

"Do you really think this will work, the interview?"

"Yeah, I do," Chris said, "Hollywood is fickle. Once you take the mystery out of something, nobody will care any more and we can fade into the background once someone else does something newsworthy, and it'll happen. I want to do right by them."

"Good, because I don't want another situation like the one with Hunter. I will not watch my daughter be that broken again."

"I don't want to see her like that either, I would never want to be the one to cause that."

Though he hadn't seen Stephanie at her worst, he had seen her learning to trust again, with him, trust that he was really there for her. He wanted her to be happy, that's all he wanted. He just wanted to make her happy, and he knew he could do that. Plus, the Hunter situation was actually getting better. Things were looking up for all of them.

"Then we're not going to have a problem."

"And you know, I know this is going to sound weird coming from me, but you know, the Hunter thing, it's getting better. He's not exactly the greatest guy in the world, but he's trying, really trying it seems. He wants to do right by the girls, and I know he didn't for a long time, but maybe…he deserves a second chance to do the right thing."

"I'll never like him," Vince admitted. That was asking too much. After what Hunter did to his daughter, any good will he felt for the man had dissipated until it was down to nothing. The way Hunter treated his daughter was never going to leave his mind. Vince had liked him too, for a long time thought of him as another son, but then Hunter broke Stephanie's heart. That could not be repaired, not in Vince's eyes. "But I won't start anything with him."

"Thank you, that means a lot to Stephanie and me because all three of us are trying to do what's best for Ferris and Keagan. They need Hunter, and you know, sometimes it does hurt that Ferris needs him, but I'm willing to put that aside for her, that's why I'm hoping you'll do the same."

"I will," Vince vowed, knowing it was something his daughter would fight for, and there was enough fighting as it was. "I'm not happy with how Ferris came about though, I'll tell you right now. I know that it wasn't your fault, but I don't like it, I don't like Stephanie's name drug through the mud. I will hope you make better decisions in the future."

"Well, we will, we're not that young anymore," Chris tried to joke, but it was to no avail. Vince was not in the mood for any joking. Vince just nodded and stood up. Chris stood up with him and Vince stuck out his hand, shaking it before leaving the room without another word. Chris stood there and breathed out. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he felt someone's arms slide around his waist. "Vince, I never knew you felt this way."

"Very funny," Stephanie said, leaning her chin on his shoulder. She loved that there wasn't much of a height difference because she loved to tuck herself into his side like this. "Was it bad?"

"Not at all," Chris shrugged and he looked over his shoulder at her. She studied his face, taking a moment to scrutinize it carefully. "What?"

"I'm trying to see if you're lying," Stephanie said, "because if you are, and if my dad made it difficult on you, then he and I are going to have a long talk about boundaries and how you and I are in a relationship, not him, you, and I."

"That would be really awkward and very disgusting," Chris told her, wincing when she pinched him in the side. "What, I was just responding to what you were saying. Anyways, it really wasn't that bad. He just told me that it was difficult for you after Hunter left, and that he doesn't want that to happen again, it was a perfectly reasonable discussion."

"You mean he didn't yell at you for getting me pregnant when we weren't married and I was still technically married?"

"He said it wasn't the way he would have gone about things, but no yelling. We're adults, he can't chastise us for the past. He just gave me the old speech where I can't hurt you, but I wasn't planning on doing that."

"Really, so it's all good?"

"Yeah, it's all good."

Stephanie sighed in relief. "Well, good, I'm glad."

That didn't mean the conversations were suddenly at a standstill. There were so many conversations they had to have, and the next one came a couple days later when Hunter dropped by to talk to them about the interview. It was really the first time they were all going to sit down together like adults and really assess the situation. They were in this for the girls, but that didn't make it any less awkward. Hunter brought Shayna along since they were trying to work things out.

"This is weird," Shayna said, "I hope I'm not the only one who recognizes this."

"Nope, you're not," Chris said, and Stephanie could tell she was still a little star-struck by him, which amused her. "But we're here for the girls, and I just want to make sure that we're all on the same page, for them."

"I want that too," Hunter looked up at him and they shared a look of understanding. "No more fighting, no more hating each other, it's not going to help anyone, and I know that's partly my fault, I know what I did, but I'm trying to do better, _be_ better."

"We all are," Stephanie said, looking at Chris, who just nodded his head. "We want this all to be over and to get back to our regular lives."

"Yeah," Chris added, "whether or not we like it, we're all kind of family now, and we have to start acting like it or else we're all going to screw up. I'm not saying let's go out and have a beer sometime, but we can act civil around them."

"And we can do right by them," Shayna added, "I think we all really love those girls, and I know I'm kind of on the outside looking in, but it's good, this is good, that we're all talking and acting like adults because that's what we are."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, grabbing her hand. He glanced at Stephanie, but Stephanie was beyond the point of caring about what Hunter did in his romantic life. She was over him, and it didn't bother her for a second. "So what is off-limits here?"

"Mostly about the girls, what they're doing now," Stephanie said, "I don't want to give away any information about them other than the most general, vague stuff. I think it's best if we just say things like, they're doing okay with this news, they're really happy, healthy, that kind of thing. No specifics, they don't need that."

"And that they're adjusting well," Chris said.

"Okay, and I'm not going to trash either of you, we were all culpable," Hunter said, looking both of them in the eye. "This wasn't anyone's fault."

They were all finally acting like adults.


End file.
